


Elijah’s Eternity: New Orleans

by eternityunicorn



Series: Elijah’s Eternity [2]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV), The Vampire Diaries - L. J. Smith
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Couch Sex, Drama, Eventual Smut, F/M, Good versus Evil, Immortals, Reunion Sex, Romance, Rough Sex, Smut, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:28:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 74,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23531593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternityunicorn/pseuds/eternityunicorn
Summary: Sequel to the AU Elijah’s Eternity - Ten years have passed, a mournful Elijah has finally started to move on without his lady. In that time, he has gained a reunited family and has also found a new lady love. Yet, all is not well as danger comes for the smallest member of the Mikaelson family: Hope, and it prompts Niklaus to call upon the white goddess, drawing her back into Elijah’s life. As they reunite, can Elijah really say he’s truly moved on?
Relationships: Davina Claire/Kol Mikaelson, Elijah Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s), Gia/Elijah Mikaelson, Hayley Marshall/Klaus Mikaelson, Marcel Gerard/Rebekah Mikaelson
Series: Elijah’s Eternity [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1805944
Kudos: 2





	1. Where I Have Been

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries or the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**Author Note** : Welcome to the next installment of the Elijah’s Eternity series! I hope readers like this next part! Much love!

**************

Ten years.

Ten long and agonizing years.

That was how long it had been since that devastating day when Eternity had left Elijah, assumingely forever. It was the day that would be burned into his very soul for the rest of his immortal life. Forever altered was he, but that was the price he had to pay for daring to love an immortal goddess queen.

“Not a god,” he could hear her voice echo in his mind, every time he referred to her as a goddess.It made him smile, but it was always short lived. The pain of loss quickly took hold always.

For a decade, Elijah suffered through his heartbreak, which seemed ridiculous to most that he would feel so profoundly over a relationship that had only lasted a little over a month, maybe more, maybe less. He didn’t know. It wasn’t like he had been counting the days he had been with Eternity like some love struck high schooler might. Still, it may have been silly to be so torn up over a budding romance, but it had been so much more to him.

After leaving Los Angeles, California those ten years ago, Elijah drove the sporty mustang he had acquired aimlessly back toward the east coast. Along the way, he had stopped in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to the Mitchells’ bed and breakfast.

He had gone to inform them that he and Eternity would not be returning as promised and that he was heading back the way he had come. However, the old couple recognized heartbreak and requested that he stayed with them for a little while. He wanted to deny them, not wanting to be in a place that held the ghost of Eternity’s memory. Yet, he couldn’t find the will to say no to them, they were simply too kind. So, Elijah stayed...for two years.

To take his mind off his loss, he kept busy and helped the couple run their bed and breakfast, something that he would have done forever. He did his best to avoid the rookie in which he had stayed in with Eternity, instead choosing to help out with maintaining the property as much as possible. It had been a good two years, despite the circumstances.

Unfortunately, the healths of the old humans deteriorated quickly in those few years. Eventually, Elijah was not only running their business, but paying for their medical bills too as they both found themselves in and out of the hospital. Their little frail bodies had simply begun to give out, as mortal bodies do.

Mr. Mitchell was the first to pass, which had devastated Mrs. Mitchell. Some believe that one can die of a broken heart and Elijah was inclined to believe that too. Only months later did Mrs. Mitchell die, passing in her sleep one night for him to find the following morning.

Elijah couldn’t help but to be angry at Eternity for their passings, at the time. She could have saved them from death, he had irrationally thought, knowing logically that she could do no such thing. Mortals were meant to grow old and die. This was part of nature’s balance. Even if she had been around, she wouldn’t have saved them from naturally caused death. Still did he blamed Eternity for the loss of the kind elders.

Speaking of Eternity, at each small funeral service which had taken outside in the local cemetery, of which he had paid for since the Mitchells didn’t have any close family, not even children or grandchildren, he swore that he had seen the shimmering grace of the unicorn out of his peripheral. Yet, when he looked in hope of seeing her, he found the field empty. There wasn’t any visible sign that she had been there at all, much to his disappointment.

After that, Elijah wanted to keep the bed and breakfast open, but couldn’t stay. It had been time to move on. So to keep the Mitchells’ place going, he compelled a young local couple to take over the business. Once that was done, he left Oklahoma and continued east.

It was about half way back that Elijah encountered Niklaus again. He had stopped at a local pub for a drink and to hunt for prey. Without Eternity, he was forced to feed upon humans. It was after he had feed upon a couple of young women using the catch and release method, that Niklaus had slinked up beside him from the shadows.

“Brother, you look like hell,” his little brother had said.

“I wonder why,” he had quipped back, in no mood to deal with his brother.

Eternity wasn’t the only one who bore thee brunt of Elijah’s blame. In fact, there was one that received more of it than her; Niklaus. If his brother had acted in someone’s interest rather than his own, he would have broke ties with Loki or at least, distracted him and Eternity wouldn’t have felt so afraid for him that she thought it best that she left.

Elijah had told his brother as much and Niklaus had enough sense to look apologetic.

“I tried to warn you,” his little brother had responded. “I told you that she would leave you as she has done others. Though if it makes you feel any better, I saw her not long ago and she looks as bad off as you, brother. It seems the dramatic listlessness is mutual.”

His brother’s encounter with Eternity had surprised Elijah. Niklaus had explained that she had come to inform him that his alliance with Loki had been abolished by the Trickster’s death. Eternity had finally killed her long time nemesis.

He had felt relieved as even a little proud that she had finally freed herself. Yet, like with any positive thought regarding the lady, it was short lived and bitterness quickly took hold of Elijah. If she had freed herself from Loki, then why hadn’t she returned to him? Surely, if she loved him as she had claimed, then she would have come back to him. Yet, she had not, for whatever reasons.

Elijah told Niklaus to never speak about Eternity again in a hostile and threatening manner, before returning to the drink he had been nursing.

It was then that his little brother had informed him of one other thing. “It’s no matter,” Niklaus had said about his broken alliance with the Trickster, “as I have found another way to break the binding spell upon me. I have found a new Petrova doppelgänger. An Elena Gilbert located in our home town of Mystic Falls. I’m heading back there to meet her.”

That had caught Elijah’s attention immediately. “And you want me to aid you in this endeavor,” he had said knowingly.

That devious grin stretched across the hybrid’s face, “Yes, brother, I do. Though I hope you have enough sense to not fall in love with this one as you did with Tatia and Katerina. It only complicates things more than need be”

“I have forsaken love, so you don’t have to worry about that, Niklaus,” Elijah had bitterly replied, “but if you think I will aide you in any way, after the part you played in Eternity’s departure, you are sadly mistaken. In fact, you’d best hope that I don’t get to this Elena Gilbert before you do. You’ll never break your curse, I’ll make sure of it.”

Without letting his brother say another word, he used his vampire speed and sped away from the pub. All the while, a plan to steal the thing that Niklaus wanted most and to kill his little brother had formulated in Elijah’s mind.

Well, from there, he returned to Mystic Falls, met the lovely Elena, and in the end, did not stopping his brother from breaking the binding spell that suppressed his werewolf side. Instead, there was an eventual reconciliation between brothers, but not before Elijah had freed his siblings from Niklaus’s grasp and exacted a little vengeance upon his little brother for all the wrongs he had committed against their family.

From that point of unity between all the Mikaelsons, the journey of the family lead them all to New Orleans. The reason? It had been discovered that Niklaus was the only fertile Original vampire and had knocked up a young werewolf girl named Hayley Marshall while still in Mystic Falls.

Elijah had been the first to encounter the pregnant werewolf, to see if it were true; that a new Mikaelson would eventually be born. It was a miracle that seemed too good to be true this glimmer of hope for a dysfunctional family of vampires and witches.

The connection between himself and Hayley had been as immediate as it had been with Eternity. Though he had sworn to forsake love, Elijah had experienced the feeling twice after the goddess’s departure. The first had been in the form a rekindling romance with Katerina that ended when he decided to follow his little brother to New Orleans. The other had been with Hayley.

With Hayley, he had danced around her and she around him, neither quite willing to act upon their mutual attraction, even after the child had been born. Elijah had tried to resist out of respect for Niklaus until he realized that his brother had no interest in marrying Hayley...at least at that time.

In the end, the two of them did end up together, but only for a time. It turned out that their relationship had been doomed from the start as Hayley’s feelings were based off the suave noble stag that had looked out for her when she was scared and alone, and not for the more complicated and darker man beneath. In a sense, he had ended up scaring her off once she saw the monster behind the red door.

It was after their romance had ended as friends that Hayley had realized her feelings for the father of her child had grown in affection and that the feeling had been mutual. The two of them had decided to marry after all and were now living in martial bliss with their young daughter Hope Mikaelson.

A few years after the end of Elijah’s relationship with Hayley, he found...affection with yet another woman, a baby vampire by the name of Gia. She was beautiful and accomplished in the violin. Music was one of his favorite things, being accomplished in the piano himself. It had started as a pupil and teacher relationship after she had turned and found she couldn’t play her violin anymore. He was always one to fix what was broken, his united family being an example.

They relationship only grew from there and now, after ten years without Eternity, Elijah was about to be married to Gia. There was only one problem; he couldn’t exactly say he was happy. Though he did care for Katerina, Hayley, and now Gia, maybe even loved them, it was hollow, as if his heart hadn’t been completely with his two former lovers or the current one. Elijah realized the hole left by Eternity hadn’t been healed in the least and all these other relationships had been an attempt to fill the void.

When he had realized this, he had acted in frustration and desperation to move on immediately and made the impulsive decision to ask Gia to marry him. She had accepted readily, despite knowing upfront that he was hung up in some other woman. He never told her the full story, only that there had been someone extraordinary that had walked into his life and then quickly exited it. He never told Gia who Eternity was, keeping her a secret from both his new lady and his family, save for Niklaus.

Regardless, Elijah had a new woman that he planned on settling down with, a completed, thriving family, and a young niece of whom he adored. Though he still suffers a bit from the loss of Eternity, he could at least say that he was content or at least, as contented as he was going to be considering his frozen, longing heart.

Over the years, there had been plenty of enemies come to call, triumphs and tragedies, but none were as dangerous and uncertain as the threat that was currently coming for the Mikaelsons or rather one of them - Hope.

The spirit of the most powerful witch ever to exist called the Hollow was searching for more power and a new corporal form. It had chosen to zero in on young Hope, a tribred with great power. A perfect target for the Hollow. The threat was imminent and it seemed that the most powerful vampire and witch family was not enough to stop it.

Currently, the Hollow was in possession of little Hope and her family was desperate to find a way to free her free her from it’s clutches. They were all afraid and desperate for a solution to defeat this impossible enemy. Yet, there didn’t seem to be one in sight. It seemed absolutely hopeless.

“What are we going to do?” Rebekah asked as the family gathered for a family meeting over this matter. “What can we do? There has to be something or someone that can help.”

“There’s nothing we can do,” Kol replied realistically. “The Hollow is the most powerful entity to ever exist. Nothing is powerful enough to destroy it.”

“Well, we can’t just let it have my daughter,” Hayley protested. “We have to do something. There just has to be a way to save Hope from this...thing.”

Back and forth, they went, trying to think of anything that they hadn’t already that might help the child. Elijah remained quiet, his attention was on Niklaus.

His brother, whom had been strangely silent during this exchange finally perked up with a determined look upon his face that only meant one thing; he had a plan. Elijah had a feeling he knew exactly what it was too, having considered it himself before dismissing it.

“Don’t worry, wifey, I won’t let anything happen to our daughter,” Niklaus said to Hayley. Then he turned to Kol, “You’re wrong, little brother. The Hollow may be the most powerful entity on this world, but it is not the most powerful in existence. That honor belongs to another.” His eyes shifted to Elijah and all other eyes followed until everyone was looking at between the two siblings with confused, curious looks.

Elijah felt his heart leap into his throat at the vague mentioning of Eternity. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Could he? Did Niklaus know how to summon her? How did he know? Perhaps Loki had told him? It seemed like a likely conclusion.

Still, he wasn’t sure he was ready to face the woman who abandoned him. He swallowed thickly as he spoke his brother’s name in warning. A jumble of emotions courses through him, so messy were they that he couldn’t make one a single one thing he felt at the moment. He couldn’t formulate more words to follow.

“Desperate times calls for desperate measures,” Niklaus said as he approached. “Elijah, I need her help. Hope needs her help. And I will not let you or your hang ups stand in my way of saving my daughter. I will do what I must, regardless of your past with her.”

After a short pause, Elijah nodded in acceptance, unable to do much else. Though he was still very unsure about the whole thing. “Do what you must,” he said to his determined sibling.

“Would someone like to tell us what the bloody hell is going on?” Rebekah called, but it feel upon deaf ears as both Niklaus and he were already gone from the room.

**To Be Continued....**


	2. Making the Call

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries or the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**************

Elijah followed Niklaus into his painting studio. The bright sun shone through the window brightly, glimmering off the glass jars upon the paint covered table by his brother’s easel with various brushes poking out the tops. It was to these brushes that Niklaus went. He took one of them from the container and dipped it into some red paint he had laying about.

With an over the shoulder smirk to him, Elijah’s brother knelt down and began to draw runes onto the hardwoods. Elijah realized immediately that Niklaus was preparing to cast a spell. Though he found it odd because it was impossible for vampires to use magic.

“Niklaus?” He questioned.

“We might not be able to do Earth-based magic,” his brother grinned slyly, “but nobody said we couldn’t use the magic of the gods.”

So that was it. Loki must have shown Niklaus how to use magic from the Immortal Universe. There was probably some law against it, as anything based in the Mortal Universe wasn’t supposed to know about the other side at all. Instead of mentioning this possible violation, he simply watched with interest as Niklaus wrote the runes for ‘summon the white goddess’.

Once they were complete, the hybrid put the brush and paint off to the side. Then he hovered his hand over the center of the rune design. He said a few words in a language that Elijah couldn’t recognize. He only knew that they were not of mortal origins.

The runes began to glow bright blue and hummed, much like in the way a unicorn’s horn does when using magic. Then after a moment, the markings ceased to glow or hum. Niklaus stood and moved away from the runes, as if he had accomplished his goal. There was just one problem; Eternity didn’t immediately appear, as Elijah assumed she would.

“Well, did it work?” He asked his brother impatiently.

“Relax, Elijah. She will come,” Niklaus calmly answered. “It’s not the type of spell that results in instant gratification. We will have to wait until nightfall, but she will be here. I promise.”

Elijah tried to play off his nerves as nonchalantly as he could, but of course, his brother knew the secret that was his relationship with Eternity from start to finish. Fortunately, he didn’t have to suffer from any more of Niklaus’s knowingness, because Gia had entered the room to unknowingly save him.

“Hey, Elijah,” the raven-haired vampire said with a radiant smile. “The rest of the family is wondering where you two have gotten off to. I offered to come check. Is everything alright?”

Elijah attempted to relax and succeeded to a degree. “Yes, all is well. Niklaus here was just making a call,” he replied to her with a tight smile, while gesturing to his smug brother. “We should be getting a response by nightfall. Hopefully, with any luck, this family’s troubles will soon be over.”

Gia’s interest was piqued. She moved further into the room, “Oh? That’s good. How, exactly?”

Niklaus smirked at Elijah, which in turn made him want to punch it from his smug face. “An old friend of your fiancé’s is coming into town, at my request,” his brother told Gia, who turned a curious expression unto him. “This friend has powers like you’ve never seen, my dear. She should be able to help us with our predicament.”

“A friend?” Gia questioned turning back to Niklaus. “What friend? And why are you only now calling this supposedly powerful person up to help? Why didn’t you do that before the Hollow possessed Hope?”

Elijah’s brother shrugged, “I needed to exhaust all our options first, before seeking...outside help. Now that we have, it is safe to call upon divinity.” Again, he looked at Elijah mischievously.

“Well, that’s great,” she said while putting one hand in the back pocket of her jeans, then gestured behind her with the other. “Shouldn't we tell the others of this grand master plan? Hayley would especially like to know that her daughter is going to be safe. She’s fit to be tied as we speak.”

“It’s not time for them to know,” Niklaus replied mysteriously. “They will find out this evening. Gia, be a dear, and go tell my lovely wife and siblings that all is well. That I have things well in hand.”

Gia looked displeased with the way that Elijah’s brother was ordering her about. Yet, she still complied with a roll of her brown eyes and left the room to do as Niklaus asked.

Elijah smiled fondly at her exit, knowing he was probably going to hear about the hybrid’s rude behavior later from the baby vampire. She and his younger brother never did get along and never would it seemed, even if she did marry into the family and become Nicklaus’s sister-in-law.

“Ah, the drama that is about to unfold,” chuckled Elijah’s little brother, after Gia was clear of ear shot. “This shall be quite the entertaining evening. I rather look forward to it.”

The smile shifted into a frown upon Elijah’s face and he rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. “I’m so glad that you are amused, brother,” he said, looking out the window. “Though, I fear you may be disappointed. I highly doubt Eternity will be...catty, as you undoubtedly hope she will be, nor will Gia for that matter. Both women are rather understanding, insightful, and most of all, above such childish nonsense, Niklaus.” He delivered a tight, unamused smile to his brother.

“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” Niklaus replied, “I actually wasn’t referring to the women, but to you, dear brother. I know where your heart really lies and I can’t help but wonder what you will do, once your former lady love finally returns to the fray?”

Elijah sighed exasperatedly again, rubbing his fingers over his forehead as he did. “I don’t know,” he spoke honestly, “but I do wish you wouldn’t use my life as a source of entertainment. I spent these past ten years as half a man without Eternity. I am trying to move on with my life, to love again, to be happy. Yet, it seems this is just a game to you, my suffering, my misery.”

Niklaus immediately turned completely serious then, for the first time since this whole conversation started. “Brother, I do not take lightly your pain,” he said, “but it is your fault for daring to love a creature that should have been left well enough alone. I told you that you would no longer belong to yourself, that you would belong to her, yet you didn’t heed my warning. You didn’t listen.”

“No, I suppose I did not,” he shoved his hand into his pants pocket to hide his clenching fist. He wanted to punch his brother for the whole ‘I told you so’ speech he had been spitting at him since they reunited. It was growing tiresome. “Yet, I do not regret it. I could never regret loving her, despite the misery of this life in her absence.”

Niklaus came over and clasped his shoulder, “Well, perhaps your misery can end, brother. Maybe she will return to you. The reason why she left in the first place is gone. She killed Loki. There could be hope still.”

Elijah huffed. He didn’t want to even entertain the idea that this time she’d stay if he asked her to or if she volunteered to, knowing there was a chance he’d only end up hurting himself more. Still, he appreciated his brother’s attempt to console him. It was a nice change from his earlier amusement at his expense.

“Perhaps, but I think it best not to think so hopefully,” he replied and then with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, he changed the subject. “We should head back to the others and prepare for our incoming guest.”

With that, Elijah swept out of the room, before Niklaus could say anything else. His brother followed him and they rejoined the family in the study, where the meeting had been called. All eyes fell to him and Niklaus the moment they reentered the room.

“I’m sure little Gia has already told you,” his brother announced in that boisterous way of his, “that all will be well by nightfall. So you, my family, can go about your day without worry. Hope will be saved this day.”

Everyone looked at each other and then back at Niklaus as if he had finally gone completely mad. None of them moved. They each wanted to know what was going on? Why their brother was acting so cheerfully and unworried when only moments before he was distraught and desperate to save his daughter.

“What the bloody hell are you going on about, Nik?” Rebekah demanded. “What’s with all the secrecy, you wanker? I think we’d all like to know.”

“Yeah, what Rebekah said,” Hayley nodded, crossing her arms over her chest in that authoritative way of hers. “Gia said that you made a call? What have you done exactly, Klaus? How will our daughter be saved?”

Elijah decided to not play Niklaus’s game of mystery. Before his brother could spin more riddles, he took the opportunity to explain, “A decade ago, both Niklaus and I had separate encounters of the two of the most profound creatures to ever exist. We learned the answer to the question so many in this world seek; are we alone in the universe? The answer is simply no, we are not. My brother knows how to call upon these creatures or rather a specific one - the most powerful creature to ever exist. It is this...goddess that will help save Hope.”

“Oh! Did you have to ruin my fun, Elijah?” Niklaus whirled on him, looking utterly annoyed and disappointed.

Hayley approached Elijah, hope sparkling in her hazel eyes. “How do you know this ‘goddess’, as you call her, will help?”

Elijah smiled in distance fondness, his voice thick with emotion, an affliction he couldn’t help, as he replied, “I know, because this particular woman is a light in the darkness. She is divine and powerful enough to defeat the Hollow without fail. You don’t have to worry, Hayley. Hope will be safe in a matter of hours. You have my word.”

The female hybrid gave him a curious, contemplative look, which prompted Elijah to put distance between them before she became too curious and continue to grill him until she figured out the truth. He knew he was unable to hide behind his usual suave mask, not this time, not in regard to Eternity. The cracks in the mask were obvious every time.

Once the explanation was given, he fled the room, unable to take the inquisitiveness of his family. Nicklaus could fill in the gaps, though he knew to keep certain details quiet or else he’d incur his big brother’s wrath. Not surprisingly, Gia followed after him.

“Elijah,” she called after him, as she trailed him down the stairs into the courtyard.

At the bottom of the stairs, he fluidly turned back and smiled at her as she too reached the bottom. She really was a beautiful woman and so real, but not for the first time, did Elijah see the white ghost of Eternity superimposed upon Gia’s corporal form, haunting him. It would always make him believe for the briefest second that she was Eternity until the glamor faded and he was faced with the reality.

Still, despite this, he reached for his dark haired beauty and pulled her into his arms, giving her the sweetest kiss. It was one of longing, caused by the apparition. She squeaked in surprise, before melting into him, seemingly unaware of his true heart’s desire.

Just then, Elijah heard a familiar sound, but one that he had not heard in ten years. It was the sound of demonic growling. Immediately, he broke their kiss and turned from Gia, pushing her behind him protectively as he did.

“Elijah?” She questioned in a concerned whisper, “Elijah, what is it?”

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he put his finger to his lip to signal her to be quiet. Then he turned back to the foe that loomed in the shadows of the courtyard. As he watched for movement, the rest of the family quickly rushed from the study to hurriedly join him. They had felt the danger as well then.

“What the bloody hell is that?” Niklaus growled.

“Demons,” Elijah replied and as he did, the little green grotesque creatures emerged in a small army from the shadows.

“We come for the girl,” one of them said in a growling hiss, as it slinked closer like a predator preparing to attack. “We want the child possessed by the one known as the Hollow. Give her to us. Now!”

With that, the demon horde did attack. Though they seemed easy to overtake, and when faced against Eternity they were, the little creatures were, in fact, quite a challenge to overcome for the Original family. Each member took on a small section, fighting them off well enough, but none were able to make a kill. This was because the demons’ hides were thick and impenetrable to any kill shot executed. They couldn’t tear their hearts out or rip their heads from their shoulders, which was frustrating as it was worrisome.

“Why won’t these nasty buggers die?” Rebekah growled as she threw one against the wall and then tossed another across the courtyard.

“I’ve never seen creatures like these before,” Kol commented as he fought against four of the demons at once, holding them at bay with his fighting prowess, but also unable to kill any of them.

Niklaus raged as did Hayley, both frustrated by the lack in ability to slay the enemy and panicked that these creatures would succeed in getting to their daughter that lay in a spell induced sleep upstairs. Finn too seemed agitated by this impossible enemy.

Elijah didn’t know what to do. He knew that none of them could defeat these creatures. A helpless feeling coursed through him as a result, one that echoed through to the others. Then one of them slipped past their collective defenses and went after Gia, whom didn’t participate in the fighting and had ducked down behind the stair case, knowingly unable to fight but unwilling to leave Elijah.

Foolish girl, he thought as he shouted her name in panic and raced to save her from harm. He succeeded by grabbing the creature by the back of the neck and tossing it clear across the room effortlessly. Then he ordered Gia to get upstairs with Freya, whom had also remained behind, and she complied without protest, racing up the stairs.

Just as he turned back to face the chaos around him, another demon made a leap for Elijah, but was felled before it could get it’s claws on him...by a sacred arrow! He couldn’t see her at first, but knew that she was there.

Eternity!

One by one the twenty or so demons fell to her sacred arrows. They all screamed and burned as the pure energy ate them from the inside out like an administered poison. Within moments, the threat had been obliterated.

It was then, in the calm of the battle’s end, that Elijah saw Eternity standing there near the arched entryway of the compound with her yumi bow at her side and the quiver on her back. She looked the same, yet different. The ethereal glow was still there, but the light in her eyes, in her face was diminished. Even the way she held herself was changed, hard and foreboding.

Her style reflected this change too. Instead of silky and colorful corset tops, she wore a tight and thick leather vest over her leather leggings and a thick oversized leather duster hung over her body ominously, all the leathers were worn and old looking, making her look like she was death itself. Her white hair that usually hung down around her in ever moving waves, was kept braided in tight braids along one side of her head while the rest flowed freely. Leather fingerless gloves adorned her fingers and she kept one hand resting on the hilt of her katana that was strapped to her side. She looked like a battle worn warrior, cold and tired.

Elijah couldn’t stop staring at her. It was too good to be true for her to be there.

Then he noticed that she was not alone. There was another, a mini-me, as it were. There was a young girl that looked like an almost identical clone to Eternity, yet there was a childishness to her that told Elijah that the girl was much younger than her. This clone also held a yumi bow and a quiver of arrows. She also wore similar leathers to her older counterpart, yet her slightly shorter white hair hung around her as Eternity’s normally did.

Could this be Eternity’s daughter? Elijah though with wonder.

“Well, well,” Eternity then said with a smirk, catching Elijah’s attention, “if it isn’t my favorite vampire family; the Mikaelsons. Would someone please like to tell me just what is going on here? More specifically, whom it was that was bold enough to call upon me so freely?”

It was then that Niklaus stepped forward into her view. “It was me, love. I called you.”

What followed next was both deserved and worrisome.

**To Be Continued....**


	3. The Defeat of the Hollow

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries or the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**************

Elijah had never seen a more murderous look upon anyone, as he saw upon Eternity’s lovely features as her eyes fell upon Niklaus. Before anyone could move, she had him up in the air and thrown against the railing of the upper level’s balcony by means of her psychic powers. The others of Elijah’s family moved in on her, but did not attack when she stared warningly at each of them. They all sensed instinctually that they were no match for her and self-preservation won out in the end.

He knew he had to do something. He had to get her to release Niklaus. So, he did the only thing he could and moved in behind her, calmly without threat. Elijah placed his hands upon her shoulders, reveling in the ability to touch her again, and whispered to her, “Let him go. Don’t do this. Let Niklaus go.”

He felt her stiffen beneath his hands briefly before she slackened and sighed. “Elijah,” she murmured softly. “I am sorry.”

Elijah felt himself thrown from Eternity’s person by that same psychic power of hers. He skidded roughly across the concrete floor at least ten feet. Immediately, he was on his feet with a look of surprise and disbelief upon his face. She gazed at him, silently warning him that she wouldn’t show him mercy either if he interfered again. He watched helplessly as Eternity proceeded to throw Niklaus around like a rag doll, before throwing him so hard into concrete that it cracked from the force.

Niklaus struggled against the invisible weight that held him down, while everyone else looked on unable to stop it. Even Hayley, though terrified for her husband, kept her distance.

“Please,” Elijah’s brother managed to say, “stop!”

“You don’t deserve mercy,” growled Eternity in response. “You sided with a war criminal. By thelaws of the Universal Kingdom, you deserve the punishment of death as an accomplice.”

“I thought you said we were your favorite vampire family, love,” Kol called to her. “What’s with the hostility then?”

Eternity threw a smirk at him and quipped, “Oh, you are my favorites, as I have no qualms with the rest of your clan, but your brother is a criminal that must be dealt with. He’s has had this coming for ten years.”

Then she doubled down her efforts to make Niklaus suffer, crushing him into the flooring further.She was going to kill him! Something had to be done to appease her.

Just as Elijah was going to attempt to talk Eternity down, Hayley stepped up and said to her, “Klaus called you, because we need someone to save our daughter! There’s a little girl in danger of being overtaken by an evil spirit. None of us can defeat it! Please, let him go! Save our daughter!”

It seemed to work, because immediately did Eternity cease her assault upon Niklaus. She looked at Hayley curiously, but didn’t question the revelation of Hope’s existence. It was almost as if she already knew of her. It was possible that she had looked into Hayley’s mind, seeing the truth there and didn’t need to gain any verbal information from the desperate mother.

Niklaus grunted and groaned in pain as he slowly got to his feet. “Oh, I know I deserved that,” he said, “but thank you for showing mercy.”

“It’s a small mercy, let me assure you,” Eternity shot back, before returning her attention to Hayley. “Take me to the child,” she said to her gently.

Without hesitation, Hayley lead Eternity up the stairs. Elijah and the rest of the family followed them. Eternity’s clone trailed behind them all. Freya and Gia soon joined them as well, each woman curious about this strange newcomer.

The room that young Hope laid in was dark. There were a few candles lit around the girl’s bed, making the place feel more like a place of mourning than anything. In a way, it was since up until now, everyone had thought that the child would be lost to them forever.

Eternity provided a light all of her own, something that Elijah noticed her mini-me did not. Her younger looking counterpart seemed less ethereal than her. Though, she wasn’t completely without the same shining grace. It was merely to a lesser degree.

Elijah’s attention was stolen as Eternity moved around the bed to observe the young red headed seven year old. She stood perfectly still there by Hope’s head, her sapphire gaze never leaving her. The air of anticipation was thick around them as everyone waited for her to say or do something.

“While I’m appreciative of the quick response time, I thought Nik said that this woman wasn’t supposed to show up until tonight,” Rebekah whispered to Elijah, as they waited for Eternity to act, “and what was with that hostile display downstairs. I thought you said she was a friend.”

“I came because of whom it was that called,” Eternity answered before Elijah could respond, though her gaze still remained on Hope. “I sensed it was you Mikaelsons and I came right away. However, I had thought it was someone else.” Her gaze broke from Hope as she glanced at Elijah, before returning to the sleeping child. “As for the rest, well, your brother can explain that to you at a later time.”

Rebekah didn’t speak again, taken aback by Eternity answering her when she hadn’t been speaking to her directly. Instead, she simply looked on, as the white goddess finally moved, placing her hand upon Hope’s forehead.

Elijah watched as Eternity closed her eyes briefly, before they snapped back open and she snatched her hand away as if she had been burnt. She also shook her head and screwed her eyes shut this time, making a whinnying sound as she did. Hearing such a thing wasn’t humorous at all surprisingly. In fact, it sparked concern in everyone there.

“What is it, mother? What do you see?” Eternity’s mini-me asked in concern.

So this was Eternity’s daughter, whose name was Hel, if memory served him correctly. Elijah noted that the young girl had a deeper, huskier voice in complete opposite to Eternity’s light and soft one. This distinction definitely the feature that set the daughter apart from the mother.

“This evil is great, but it is not the worst of it,” Eternity answered. “There is a cloud of danger surrounding the child, all because of Hope’s uniqueness. I fear others will come for her, and by all from this world, but beyond.”

“But can you help her?” Niklaus asked desperately.

Eternity turned slightly to look at the hybrid. She didn’t look at him kindly, but certainly not with the fiery hostility from before. “I can. It’s quite easy for someone such as me,” she said. “Though, I suggest that we move out into the courtyard. Things could get rather...combative once I free the young one of the evil spirit.”

Niklaus nodded and promptly picked Hope up into his arms. He moved through the small group and took his daughter down into the open courtyard as Eternity had suggested. The warrior queen followed as did the rest of them.

Elijah found himself walking beside Eternity, but she didn’t even seem to notice or else she was blatantly ignoring him. He felt a pang of pain shoot through him from it. However, he soon found himself distracted as Gia, who followed closely behind him, grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed it tightly in hers.

He looked back over his shoulder and smiled slightly at her, which she returned. There was a strange look in her dark eyes that Elijah would have recognized as worry and insecurity had he been paying close enough attention to it. Yet, he was more focused on the woman beside him and on his niece.

As soon as they were back downstairs, Eternity instructed Niklaus to lay Hope upon the floor, which happened to be near the broken concrete where she had punished Elijah’s hybrid brother. Once that was done, everyone circled widely around the goddess and the child, each watching with hope that whatever Eternity planned on doing would work.

Eternity knelt down gracefully above Hope’s head. From there, she placed both her fore and middle fingertips together upon the girl’s forehead. She closed her eyes and began to chant in that same strange language that Niklaus had used when summoning Eternity. Her fingers began to glow blue and hum, reminding Elijah of a unicorn’s horn again.

After a few minutes of chanting, the blue ball of light that represented the Hollow’s spirit emerged from Hope’s little body. Once it had been fully extracted, Eternity stopped chanting and the blue glow of her fingers faded as she lifted them away from the girl’s forehead. She stood fluidly with her eyes on the floating blue orb. In fact, all eyes were upon it in wariness.

The orb shifted and changed into the corporal form that was the original body of the Hollow, otherwise known as Inadu. The ancient witch spirit growled frustratedly, having been removed from her means of survival. She immediately moved to attack Eternity using the power that she had managed to collect from Hope in a grand gesture.

Yet, much to the angry spirit’s surprise, nothing happened. She tried again, gesturing in the same fashion she had the first time. Still, nothing happened.

“You know not who I am,” Eternity said to Inadu, “but know that you are nothing next to me, child. However, if you wish to continue your attempt to contend with me, please be my guest. You will lose. I can assure you of that.”

The Hollow screeched like a banshee and attacked anyway. Since her magic was paralyzed, she leapt at Eternity, aiming for a physical confrontation verses a magical one.

It was pointless, however, for the evil witch spirit to make such an attempt against Eternity, as the warrior queen rendered Inadu helpless with her psychic powers. She halted the Hollow’s movements mid air, leaving the spirit suspended there. Eternity hadn’t even gestured or made any sort of motion. In fact, she had remained perfectly still, earning looks of wonder from everyone. Except for Elijah, of course. He had seen enough of her abilities to not be surprised by the motionless execution of her powers.

Eternity rose to her feet and walked slowly around Hope’s still form to go nearer to the witch spirit. She had a predatory grace about her as she did. Elijah found that it was as sexy as it was foreboding.

“It is over now,” she murmured sweetly, like a mother to a child. “You are incapable of finding peace in this world or the next. You are a poison upon this mortal plane and there is nothing else to do, but erase your very existence.”

The Hollow struggled against the power that kept her suspended and subdued. There was fear in her dark eyes as she watched Eternity move even closer to her. She growled and shrieked at her like the wild beast she really was.

Eternity came within inches of Inadu and said two little words to her, “Be gone.”

Just like that, the Hollow disappeared, leaving not bone nor ash behind from her erasure from existence itself. It was instantaneous and without grandeur. She was simply...gone.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Niklaus commented with a small smile.

“Yes, all the struggles and bloody drama we faced with the Hollow, yet she manages to vanquish her effortlessly,” Rebekah said in disbelief.

Hayley immediately looked at her daughter. “How’s Hope?” She asked as she rushed to the still sleeping child’s side with everyone else following suit, except for Eternity and Hel.

“She will be alright,” Eternity called. “Holding such power inside her has surely taken it’s toll, but nothing that a long restful sleep won’t cure.”

Hayley breathed a sigh of relief as did Niklaus, who then picked Hope up into his arms again and carried her off back to bed with his wife following close behind. Before he retreated, however, Elijah’s brother looked across the way at Eternity and said in all sincerity, “Thank you. I shall not forget this.”

She nodded curtly, as he and the mother of his child left the rest of the family behind.

The others looked at Eternity with curious, inquisitive looks, focusing in on her. It was obvious to Elijah that they all had questions for the queen, as they gathered around her to bombard her with their inquiries. She answered them all, telling the family her name and the name of her daughter first and foremost. Then she explained her origins, with an emphasis on the fact that she was not a god when she told them about her place in the greater universe; something that made Elijah smirk.

Then Eternity spoke of her meeting with Elijah and immediately all eyes fell on him too, save for Eternity herself who refused to meet his gaze. She didn’t speak of the romantic part of their relationship, however, telling the family that they had been partners on a mission, nothing more, nothing less.

That may have been because Gia was standing close beside him, holding onto his arm in that loving way she did in relief when a crisis was adverted or dealt with. No doubt she understood he was in a new relationship and didn’t want an issue to arise should she speak the truth of their former love affair.

“So, you were a familiar to a literal goddess,” Finn said to Elijah quietly. “How lucky of you, brother, to have such a fantastical opportunity. Leave it to you with your false noble grandeur to gain an ally of great magnitude. We were fortunate to have a brother or two that is so well connected.”

“Yes, brother, it is fortuitous,” Elijah nodded.

Suddenly, Niklaus emerged from Hope’s room, looking down at them from the balcony. “Eternity,” he called.

“What is it now, Niklaus,” she replied neutrally, looking up at him.

“You spoke of other dangers coming for my daughter,” he said. “I know you owe me nothing but your scorn and hostility for the past, but I would like you to stay here and protect Hope. You are the only one who can.”

Elijah felt his heart climb into his throat at his brother’s suggestion. To have Eternity so close, yet remain so far away would be both torture and hopefully. He didn’t know if he could handle such an arrangement. Despite his feelings, he tried to remain calm as he didn’t want to attract Gia’s inquiries about his odd behavior nor did he want to alert her to the truth by it.

Eternity grinned slightly, “How much pride did you have to swallow to speak so humbly?” Since it was a rhetoric jest, she did wait for a response from Niklaus and continued on to answer his request, “I am afraid that I cannot stay. I have duties elsewhere that require my attention. I am the Universal Queen after all, you and your family is not my only concern.”

Niklaus looked disappointed. “Please,” he implored in a rare moment of vulnerability, and in front of the entire family no doubt. “I need your help. If you will not do it for me, then do it for Hope.”

She sighed and said, “I offer a compromise. I will give you a beckon to give to Hope when she wakes, so long as she wears it, it will keep her safe and it will alert me simultaneously. If she is in danger, I will return.”

Eternity conjured a small glowing blue crystal pendant on a child sized chain. She tossed it up to Niklaus, who caught it effortlessly.

He smiled slightly in gratitude, before disappearing back into Hope’s room.

“Come, Hel. It is time to depart,” Eternity said to her daughter.

Elijah felt his heart sink into his gut. He couldn’t bear her staying, yet he didn’t want her to go. How absurdly contradictory. He watched as Eternity turned back toward the arched entryway, but his attention quickly turned to Hel, whom didn’t move to follow her mother.

“I wish to remain here, Mama,” the younger woman said.

“You do?” Eternity tilted her head curiously at her.

Hel nodded, “Yes, because if this family needs a first line of defense against whatever enemies might come, perhaps I can provide such assistance until you are able to return.”

Eternity smiled understandingly, “Alright, my daughter. Protect them well.”

“Yes, Mama.”

With that, Eternity vanished from sight, leaving her child behind.

Elijah didn’t know how to feel about Hel remaining and not because he didn’t trust her. No, it was because she looked so much like her mother that she could have passed for Eternity minus a couple minor details. If he had felt haunted before, now his torment was only going to be that much worse with Eternity’s mini me wandering about.

How wonderful, he thought with a grumble, before turning away in search of a drink or two - maybe three or more. He felt as though he was going to need it.

**To Be Continued....**


	4. The Goddess’s Daughter

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**************

It was three days before Hope awoke, but when she did the little redhead was back to being the happy child she had been before the Hollow’s possession. There was a great relief and an even greater celebration at the Mikaelson compound. Everyone was overjoyed that the child was awake and back to normal. Even Finn, whom, while allied with his family, was still the grumpy, bitter sick in the mud. Yet, Elijah’s older brother showed a rare moment of happiness for his niece’s safe return.

Elijah was grateful to Eternity, wherever she had gone to, for the miracle she had performed upon young Hope. But he wasn’t the only one. Niklaus too showed gratitude to the immortal that wasn’t there, through his care for her daughter, Hel.

He watched as Niklaus asked after the young lady’s comfort and ensured that there wasn’t anything that she needed or wanted, despite her own capabilities for magic using. He treated her in much the same way as he did his own daughter.

Elijah found it charming of his brother, knowing that Eternity would appreciate it, even if he was only doing so to stay on the queen’s good side. He, himself, avoided the mini-me all costs. Just a mere glance at the girl and his heart felt heavy in his chest with pain and longing for her mother. He always turned away and went someplace else. Elijah couldn’t bear it, just as he knew he wouldn’t be able to, seeing the woman he pined for in her.

Even so, in the days that followed Hope’s awakening, he found himself staring out the window of his private study often, instead of celebrating with the rest of the family. One hand was always fisted into his pants pocket, while the other held a glass of bourbon. He stood there aimlessly, watching the bright world outside with cloudy thoughts running through his mind that he didn’t care to share. He didn’t even want to share with Gia, whom had inquired into his strange behavior, but received no answer, just deflection.

“How long are you going to sulk in here?” Niklaus asked him one day, coming to find him there in that same position by the window. “Brother, your fiancée is worried for you. You should tell her something - anything to ease her.”

“So, Gia sent you,” Elijah responded, without breaking his gaze from the window. “Just what would you like me to tell her in order to ease her, brother? That I’m not truly in love with her? That our relationship is based entirely on my own selfishness? On my desperation to move on with my life? Maybe I should tell Gia that I only asked her to marry me on an impulse stemmed from frustration with my inability to do so? Do you think she’d be eased then, if I speak the cold, hard truth to her?”

“Definitely not, but you could at the very least tell her a merciful lie or two,” his brother said. “Surely you could come up with something to say to her.”

“If this is all you’ve come here to pester me about, then you can kindly take your leave now,” he growled, sipping from the glass in his hand. “I do not need your brotherly advice. I wish to be left alone.”

His brother refused to give up, however.

Niklaus sighed, “Gia’s a strong and understanding woman with great intuition. I am sure she has already been aware of the hole in your heart, perhaps from the very beginning. Maybe not merciful lies, but the truth would be the best course of action, brother. You should tell her all. For god’s sake just do something, please!”

Elijah whirled on his brother, his anger rising inside him. “What is with this incessant need to have me speak to Gia?” He practically roared, his patience at the limit.

Niklaus looked away sheepishly, as a child would who didn’t want to admit to something. Yet, he didn’t act fearfully or warily toward Elijah’s outburst, knowing his brother’s temperament well enough to know when to be afraid and when not to be.

“Well?” Elijah insisted slightly calmer than previously, when his younger brother didn’t answer right away.

“Hayley and Gia talk,” Niklaus finally admitted in a quiet voice. “Hayley has been pestering me for days to talk to you in regard to your fiancée’s concerns. She believes that you’ll listen to me, that I’ll be able to persuade you to act. Little does she know the truth of...this.” He gestured between them haphazardly.

“Ah, you refer to how you are the reason behind my misery? The reason why I cannot find happiness? Why I am torn away from the woman I love, yet again by the infamous Klaus,” He replied. “How did you explain Eternity’s accusations against you, by the way? I’m sure that was quite the tale to tell Hayley. I wonder what merciful lies you told her.”

His brother shrugged, “I told her none, actually. Just some omissions, but I was truthful as much as I could be. Surely you could do the same with Gia, so Hayley will cease her constant pestering.”

“Well, brother, I’m afraid your wife is wrong. I won’t be listening to you,” Elijah stubbornly stated with a tight smile. “This is my business and mine alone to deal with. I’ll deal with it in my own time, thank you. Now, go and leave me in peace.”

Seeing that he wasn’t going to get anywhere with his older brother, Niklaus left the room in a slight huff. No doubt he would be getting an earful from Hayley for failing his mission. Elijah couldn’t help but smirk a little in amusement at the imagery of that. He felt it was well deserved after everything. After all, Elijah had forgiven his brother to a point, but not completely.

He returned to his blank staring.

“So, you are the infamous Elijah Mikaelson, the vampire that could have been my stepdad,” came the husky voice of Hel.

Elijah immediately turned from his gazing, surprised to see the young woman standing there in the doorway with an amused smile upon her thin lips that were so similar to Loki’s. He didn’t say anything right away. He was too caught up in the ghostly resemblance to Eternity, as he always was whenever he happened to catch a glimpse of Hel.

“It’s a shame really. I think I might have liked to call you ‘Father’,” she continued, moving into the room with a grace that was slightly flawed, close to that of a mortal. She was Earthier than her mother in her movements, even her hair didn’t move as ocean waves do. “You seem like quite the upgrade to the sperm donor that was my birth father,” she said, coming closer to him with a curious expression.

“Hel,” he finally spoke, then he smiled slightly, “Not a fan of your father, I take it. I suppose we have that in common then. Though I am not sure if I would have become your stepfather since the relationship your mother and I had was too brief to ever consider such a thing and our relationship could have ended anyway, even if Loki or Niklaus hadn’t been involved.”

“So negative,” Hel frowned. “You and my mother both, it would seem.”

Elijah’s interest was piqued then, “Oh?”

“Yeah, she hasn’t quite been herself for the past decade,” she said, shoving her hands into the back pockets of the jeans she was wearing. “She’s been more combative, eager for the fight; to battle. When she confronted my father for that last time, she had been merciless in killing him, but afterwards, she had broke down; grieving, I assume. Their relationship had always been strange and complicated, so her reaction hadn’t surprised me any. My mother did love my father. Yet, I believe she grieved for more than her inability to save him from himself. I think some of that grief was from having to leave you, Mr. Mikaelson.”

“She spoke of me to you?” He wondered aloud with such hope.

“Of course,” Hel replied. “My mother and I are very close. When I saw the change in her, as if she was half a woman, I asked her about it. She told me all about the Earth-based vampire she had fallen in love with.”

Elijah nodded, feeling his heart lighten a small degree, knowing that Eternity hadn’t forgotten him, at least. Though it seemed true that she was as miserable as he was, not that he was happy about that fact. It actually distressed him and made him desire to find her, though he refrained from such an impulse. Even so, it appeared that their short lived, whirlwind romance had been just as significant to her as it had been to him and it made Elijah long for Eternity all the more.

Hel giggled slightly, “You know, when my mother told me that you were a vampire, it didn’t surprise me, no more than my mother’s grief for having to kill my father did. From what I understand, she always did fall for guys that were comprised of both light and dark; never quite the hero, but never quite the villain either.”

Elijah smiled a little, as he downed the last bit of the bourbon in his glass. He noticed how Hel looked at the glass and couldn’t help but quip, “I don’t think you’re old enough to drink, young lady.”

She rolled her eyes at him, placing a hand on her hip, “Oh please! I’m older than you by at least five hundred years.”

“Perhaps, but you appear to be no more than fourteen years old, physically speaking,” he replied playfully. “I doubt anyone would serve you, at least, not anywhere on Earth.”

Hel conceded by shrugging.

That prompted Elijah to chuckle at her, as he poured her a drink while refilling his own. She took the glass he handed her with gratitude. “Don’t tell your mother that I let you drink,” he jested.

“I don’t think she would care. Human alcohol does nothing to we of the Immortal Universe,” she responded as she sipped from the glass. “Though I am sure you already know that.”

Elijah nodded, “I do, but what I don’t know is your story. I know you’re the daughter of Loki and Eternity, but other than that, I know nothing.”

Hel grinned cheekily, “Well, no you wouldn’t since you’ve been avoiding me this whole time.” At his taken aback look, she laughed and said, “Oh yes, I have noticed. Not that I blame you. I do look a lot like my mother. I’m sure it’s painful for you.” She spoke the last part sympathetically.

The light air between them darkened a bit at the mention of his pain. Yet, Elijah tried not to let it get to him too much. Instead, as he had done many times in the past, he pushed the pain away, burying it deep inside. He refused to wallow, at least, right now.

“Forgive me,” he said as lightly as he could manage. “Well, you’re here now. Why don’t we sit and you can tell me all about yourself? I am curious about the famed Goddess of Death.”

He had meant calling her that as a passing comment that was meant to be in jest, but Hel didn’t take it that way. Immediately, she grew dark in her expression, a shadow looming over her features, as she practically growled, “I am not a Goddess of Death. That’s a stupid, cruel title given to me by those bastards in Asgard, particularly the biggest jackass of them all; Odin. I nor my siblings are the demonic offspring of our father. We are not evil nor are we monsters!”

Elijah realized he had unintentionally offended the girl. “I’m sorry,” he said to her gently. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Hel sighed and put a hand to her forehead, relaxing a bit, “No, I know that. I’m sorry for getting angry, but you just don’t know the hell my sibling and I have gone through, just by being the children of Loki the Trickster. Not even our mother and her great position could ever protect us from the abuse and scorn we have faced throughout our lives.”

He gazed sympathetically at her, “Come, let’s sit.”

She nodded and allowed him to guide her to the couches.

They sat there side by side for a long time talking. Hel carried most of the conversation, telling Elijah the story of her life. It was interesting talk about the reality of the old Norse Mythology that he had grown up on, and an effective distraction from his troubles.

He learned that Hel was the youngest sibling, which corresponded to the old myths. She and her brother were cursed by an unknown person. Jörmungandr or Jor as he was affectionate called by Hel was cursed to turn into a giant serpent, though not as big as to be able to wrap around the entire Earth, as the myths stipulated. Fenrir, a timid boy according to her, could turn into a giant wolf, while Hel herself had the ability to communicate with the dead, but every time she did, half her body turned into a decaying corpse which was a painful experience. Though these transformations had started out as curses, it had been Eternity that taught her children to control them, so that they could maintain their birth humanoid forms.

From there, the girl moved to a happier topic as she told Elijah that she was Eternity’s heir should anything happen to her mother. Hel had been in training for a long time to be a leader and a warrior, often fighting by her mother’s side. Brightly had she mentioned to him that she had only just recently went on a solo mission to protect the cat people of Avalon, whomever they were, and had succeeded in it with flying colors.

“Mama was so proud of me,” the girl gushed. “It was perhaps the best day of my life!”

Elijah smiled at Hel when she told him this, feeling proud of her, despite barely even knowing the girl. Then, at her prompting, it was his turn to share about himself with the girl. Apparently, while Eternity had spoken about him, she had been sparse on the details. He told Hel about his family’s origins and how he knew about her and her father from the old religion that the Vikings had believed in, not knowing that it was all true. While going through his history, he tried to downplay the darker parts of murder, torment, and betrayal, though it impossible to avoid speaking about in it’s entirety.

They had talked for so long that the nighttime had fallen upon New Orleans. He eventually had been forced to turned on the lights at one point, while they carried on their conversation.

Then not too soon after, his talk with Hel came to an end when Gia came knocking on the doorway, surprised to see him sitting with the girl and smiling so brightly. He had been animate with her for the first time, in a long time. That lightness was something she had never seen before in him, he knew. A pang of guilt coursed though him at the shock that crossed her lovely face, followed by a subtle amount of disappointment.

The room grew tense immediately as a result and Hel, noticing this, quickly took her leave, as if the change in atmosphere had something to do with her. Elijah didn’t have time to tell her to stay or even that the tension wasn’t her fault. She swept out of the room before he could, leaving him alone with Gia.

“I hope I wasn’t intruding. I was just wondering where you were,” said his fiancée softly. “I haven’t seen much of you these past few days. So, I decided to come looking.”

Elijah got to his feet and turned to her. “I am sorry for that,” he apologized, something he did often. Too often. “Was there something that you needed?” He asked, putting his hands in his pockets with an awkward feeling coursing through that he wasn’t accustomed to.

At first, Gia looked as though she was going to get angry with him, her already dark eyes darkening more with the fires of that particular emotion. However, it died quickly as she chose not to let her fury rain down upon him, for whatever reason. Instead she surprised him by suggesting, “Let’s get out of here, just the two of us. We haven’t gone out in a while. So, let’s go.”

He didn’t dare refuse her, nodding his acceptance of her suggestion. “Of course,” he said. “Where would you like to go?”

Gia smiled as she suggested, “Let’s go to that place where you first decided to take me on as your pupil, when I told you I couldn’t play my violin anymore. Do you remember?”

Elijah returned her smile with a fond one of his own at the memory she invoked. “Yes, I do. That sounds like a lovely idea.”

She seemed happy then that he had accepted. “Come on then,” she said as she held out her hand for him to take.

He went to her, taking her hand in his, and allowed Gia to lead him out.

**To Be Continued....**


	5. The Last Dance Before Goodbye

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**************

The bar had a soft orangey glow to it. It was lowly lit with a relaxed atmosphere that allowed patrons to mingle and chat with each other easily. The place was a small hole in the wall, but in the best way. It was intimate, especially for the local freelance musicians that took the low set stage to perform. Sometimes Gia would show off her talents with her violin, playing upbeat jazz tunes flawlessly.

Tonight, however, Elijah and Gia stood at the bar in reminisce of that night so long ago where hehad told her he could help her learn how to be a vampire. They sipped on drinks and hardly spoke. It seemed as though neither of them knew what to say to the other. Not a good way to begin a date.

Finally, Elijah took the initiative and said to her, “I’m surprised you didn’t grab your violin on the way out. I know how much you like playing here.”

Gia shrugged slightly, “It wouldn’t be much of a date, if I had.”

“I don’t know. I think I would have enjoyed a Gia performance,” he replied flirtatiously, grinning at her slightly which made her blush and look away shyly.

“Maybe next time,” she murmured, looking down at her drink in her hands.

They fell into an awkward silence again, both downing their respective drinks and then Elijah ordered another for them. He hadn’t realized just how wide the divide between Gia and him had gotten until that moment, standing there together. He wanted to fix it, the crack in their relationship, despite knowing he would never be able to - at least, not fully. Yes, he could tell her pretty things to appease her, but they would always be hollow.

Putting down his drink, he held his hand out to Gia, who looked inquisitively at him before silently taking his hand. He lead her away from the bar and toward the crowd of dancing people in front of the stage. It was here that he turned to her and began to lead her into a casual dance amongst the loud and enthusiastic humans around them.

“Elijah, you know I’m a terrible dancer,” she smiled, as she swayed with him.

“Yes, but at least, it is more relaxing than standing at the bar,” he told her. They were quiet again, but only for a moment when Elijah decided it was time to stop beating around the bush. “I know that I haven’t been as attentive to you as I should be. I’ve been distant and closed off. I know that I say this a lot to you, but I wanted to apologize for...everything.”

“Elijah,” Gia sighed, “I understood from the beginning that some woman had wound you up so tightly that it made it hard for you to move on with your life. I had thought with time that maybe you would finally let whatever happened go, that if I was patient and remained by your side, you would tear down the walls around your heart for me. Yet, you haven’t and still, I am here waiting, all the while, getting lame ass apologies that at this point don’t mean much.”

He looked down between them, unable to meet her gaze. He had done wrong unto her by taking their pupil-teacher relationship and turning it into a romance one, when he wasn’t ready for it. He was cruel and unfair to this woman, whom had given him nothing but friendship and love.

“Gia, I -.”

“Don’t. Don’t say anything.” She kissed his lips tenderly.

Finally his eyes met hers, a confused look upon his face.

Gia smiled, tears forming in her eyes, “You don’t have to speak. I know the truth. I figured it out when I saw you sitting with Hel. Your heart belongs to that girl’s mother. Well, I figured it out from that and the way you reacted to that woman, Eternity, showing up. I’m not blind, Elijah. I could see it then, but I couldn’t be sure as you’ve been avoiding speaking the truth to me since...well, the beginning.”

Elijah ceased dancing with her, pulling Gia back off the dance floor. “I didn’t want to bring it up,” he admitted to her. “I never have because it’s too painful for me to recount. Nobody besides Niklaus knows the truth, but that is only because he was there at the time, when I was...with Eternity.”

“So, the one who saved Hope was the woman who wound you up so tightly,” she responded with a slight smirk. “I can see why. She is something remarkable. There was a otherworldliness to her that one certainly can’t find here on Earth - and that power! Wow! It’s like don’t mess with that chick!” She laughed a bit at her own humor, an attempt to lighten the mood in spite of the terribleness of the truth.

“Yes, Eternity is a once in a lifetime encounter, that is for sure,” he spoke honestly, briefly cracking a small smile at Gia’s silliness. “There is nobody like her and once she’s touched your life, you can never go back to the normalcy you had before, no matter how long the encounter is - or short.”

The smirk faded from Gia’s lips and her laughing ceased. “So, everything between us,” she whispered, her voice taking a shaky, emotional turn. “Has any of it been real? Do you love me, Elijah, or am I just some placeholder for the ‘wonder woman’ you lost?”

Elijah sighed heavily, before looking her deep in the eyes and gently grasping the side of her neck as he told her, “I do love you, darling Gia, but only as much as one can in my unique circumstance. What we have is as real as it can be, but certainly not as much as it should be. I wouldn’t call you a placeholder, no. I care for you because you are you - a bright and musically talented woman. I’m not clinging to you until Eternity comes back. I’m clinging to you, because I doubt she will and I simply wish to move on with my life.”

Gia next asked, “And if she did? Come back to you, I mean. What would happen then?”

Elijah didn’t have an answer for her, but only because he didn’t want to voice it. He didn’t want to be so cruel to a woman who had done nothing but love and care for him for the past few years. Yet, he knew he was already being a bastard to her, since he had dragged her into a half-hearted relationship with him, stringing her along while he secretly longed another. Yes, he was a cruel man either way - and ever selfish too.

“Elijah,” called Gia, trying to get an answer from him.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive me,” he murmured to her, briefly kissing her forehead apologetically. “The truth is if Eternity came back to be with me, I would do so in a heart beat. I wouldn’t think twice.”

She didn’t move or speak, but her expression appeared contemplative as she considered what he told her. She gave a curt nod as she said, “Well, at least, you’re finally opening up to me and being honest. It takes Klaus summoning your ex to get you to, but I guess, late is better than never, right?” There was bitter pain in her voice as she spoke to him and it made his heart ache.

Elijah wanted to fix what he had broke, but knew that there was nothing he could do, except to let her go as he should have done long before now. “I suppose this is a break to our engagement,” he said, stepping away slowly. “You deserve better than this, that me. I wish you all the best, darling Gia.”

Without giving her a chance to respond, he sped away and left Gia standing alone in the middle of the bar. Though he had expected for things to be final between them, Elijah found that she wasn’t quite ready to give up, as he had assumed she was after hearing the truth of things. He didn’t get far from the bar before Gia caught up to him, calling his name desperately. He stopped running and turned back to the baby vampire with a look of disbelief.

Why was she chasing after him? What more needed to be said between them?

“Elijah, wait,” Gia said as she came nearer. “I know that you’re hung up on this other woman and that you can’t love me fully because of it, but you did say you love me. Well, I love you and I’ll fight for this, for us, until there is nothing left to fight for. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but for now, I want to stay with you. Please, just let me try to help you through this.”

Elijah closed the distance more cautiously, unsure of what to do. Something felt...amiss. Gia was an understanding woman, whom would do anything for someone she cared about, but to stay with a man that was willing to leave her for another woman seemed out of character for her. She wouldn’t do such a thing. It wasn’t in her nature to put up with that sort of thing.

Elijah should have seen the signs, should have followed his instincts that alerted him to the danger, but it was too late. Once he was close enough, Gia’s hand shot out and wrapped around his throat, lifting him up off the ground with a strength that she shouldn’t possess.

Immediately did her form shift before him into a man that had an uncannily similar appearance to Eternity. In fact, he was a like a male doppelgänger of her, except that he was much taller than his lost love, with a long goatee of curly white hair cascading from his chin and his eyes were blood red with a crazed murderousness to them. His maddened grin was toothy with sharp, jagged teeth poking out as he looked up at Elijah.

“You are one of the Originals, I’ve heard so much about,” this familiar stranger said. “I’ve been observing you for some time. Tough break with your lady - both of them as it were. You know where I might find the little one with the immense power - the tribrid. I want you to take me to her. I need her power, if I am to -.” He suddenly screamed in pain and released Elijah, dropping him to the ground.

The fiend didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence because someone had shot him in the arm with a sacred arrow. He howled and held his wounded appendage, all the while looking around for his attacker.

Elijah did as well, as he slowly rose to his feet. Then in a flash of white, she was there, attacking the stranger again with a fury unmatched by any: Eternity! In a few moves, she had sent the madman sailing into a nearby building, causing the people in the area to scatter in order to avoid being injured by the debris caused by the projectile.

Turning to Elijah with a worried gaze, she looked him over and then asked, “Are you alright?”

He nodded, “Yes, I’m fine.”

“Sister!” Called the stranger, emerging from the dust and debris casually as if he hadn’t just been thrown through a building. “I was wondering when we’d see each other again! You look well!”

Quickly, Eternity asked Elijah, “Where in your lady?”

Elijah blinked, not understanding the question at first, before he realized she meant Gia. “I left her at the bar,” he admitted, though he wanted to say more. To tell Eternity that Gia wasn’t his lady anymore.

She gave a concerned look in result of his answer, but it was gone so swiftly that Elijah had to wonder of it had been there at all. Then Eternity grew determined as she instructed, “Go and get her. Get back to your compound as you’ll be safe there. My daughter will protect you and yours. Go! Now! There’s no time to waste!”

Without questioning her, he did as she requested of him, dashing away with his vampire speed to retrieve the woman he had just broken up with and convince her to return to the Mikaelson compound. He didn’t even look back to watch the confrontation between Eternity and the madman she was squaring off against. He only hoped that she would be alright.

Gia was still at the bar fortunately. She was hunched over the bar with several drinks in front of her. When he approached, he could hear the quiet sobs and smell the salt of her tears. It pained him to see her as such and because of him, but there wasn’t time for guilt or sorrow. He had to get her out of there since Eternity seemed to believe she was in danger as much as the rest of them appeared to be with this new threat.

“Gia,” he called to her with gentle urgency.

Her head lifted immediately and she spun toward him with a surprised, but hopeful expression. “Elijah,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes and sniffling a bit as she tried to hide the evidence of her crying. “Why are you back so soon?”

He didn’t waste time.

“We have to go. Now!” Elijah grabbed hold of her arm and tugged her toward the exit, even as she tried to resist him. “Come on,” he urged. “There isn’t time to hesitate. Something is coming and we have to get back to the Mikaelson compound to warn the others and I want to ensure that you are safe. I won’t let anything harm you.”

He knew his words were only fueling her hope for salvaging their relationship, but he couldn’t help speaking them. It was true after all. He didn’t want Gia to come to harm. He knew that despite his lack of complete feelings of love for the woman, he still cared about her enough to be fiercely protective of her. Elijah would do anything to make sure she lived so that she could go out and find her happiness in the world someday.

Gia followed him willingly from there. He could feel her curious gaze on him all the while and it made him feel guilty for it. Yet, at the moment, he didn’t have time to care about the consequences of his words. Elijah just knew they had to get to safety at all costs.

With vampire speed, they were back at the compound within a very short amount of time without any obstacles in the way. When they arrived, Elijah noticed that Rebekah and Freya sat with Hope and Hel on the couches in the courtyard, just inside the arched entryway. Their hasty return to the compound alerted the four women to their distress.

Each getting to their feet immediately. They each instinctually knew something was terribly wrong and it set them into protective mode around young Hope.

“What happened, Elijah?” Rebekah asked urgently.

“Someone is after Hope,” he replied with panting breath. “Eternity’s brother, it would seem, but fret not, she is dealing with him as we speak.”

In the beat of heart, Hel was in front of him. She had moved so quickly that he hadn’t even noticed she had moved at all.“Bruno, you speak of Bruno!” She was in a near panic as she spoke to him. “Where is my mother? Where are they now?” Hel was insistent and urgent as she tried to get answers from him.

However, Elijah didn’t get a chance to answer, as Eternity herself came through the arched entryway, saying, “It’s alright, Hel. Don’t panic.”

She was injured. Eternity limped a little and held her left side as she made her way over to them. The smell of her sweet blood filled his nostrils and made him crave it, crave her right away. Visions of their intimate history flashed before his mind’s eye, but he refrained from letting it affect him in any way.

He looked around to see if Rebekah or Gia was affected, but found that they were not. Or at least, neither appeared to be. They both were behaving in a calm, non-predatory way. So Elijah assumed that the two female vampires were unaffected, a curious thing that he’d have to inquire into later. For now, satisfied that all was well with his sister and former fiancée, he turned his attention back on the injured immortal.

“What happened? Did you kill the assailant?” Elijah asked Eternity gently, automatically reaching out to help guide her over to the couches, where he sat her down next to Hope, whom looked at her brightly.

“No, I’ve been in combat with my long lost brother for nearly ten years, but he is like a cockroach; resilient,” replied Eternity, looking up at him, before wincing in pain. “He is seeking power to make himself stronger, to become a challenger for my rule as the Universal Queen,” she explained. “It’s a long story, too long to tell now, but he is already quite formidable, having gone across space to find the life force energy he needs. It will take a great amount of my power to defeat him, perhaps all of it.” She looked away from them as she said that last part, speaking it so quietly Elijah could barely hear it.

“That’s why he’s after Hope,” Freya observed, “to absorb her powers and use them in his quest for a coup. What can we do to stop him from getting to her?” She looked to Eternity for an answer.

Eternity looked at Hope, whom Elijah noticed didn’t look fearful despite all the adults talking about some mad man looking to still her powers. She smiled at the girl and ran a gentle hand through her red hair, before saying, “There is a place I know that could keep her safe. It is a special place right here on Earth.”

Rebekah and Freya looked at each other with questioning, curious gazes. Even Elijah was inquisitive to the place in which Eternity spoke of. He didn’t know of such a place, a place to fend off a powerful immortal.

“What is this place that you speak of,” Rebekah asked.

Eternity looked at her with a small, mysterious smirk and answered, “The Underground Agency.”

**To Be Continued....**


	6. Lost in Paradise

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**************

“What is the Underground Agency exactly?” Rebekah asked.

“It’s a pet project of mine, one inspired by the adventure I had with your brother,” Eternity glanced up at Elijah with a small brief smile, before turning her attention back to his little sister to explain, “Many of the mortal worlds on this side of the divide between the two universes know about the existence of myself and the Immortal Universe. This is because they have the capacity to deal with any threat unto them from those less savory characters from the other side. This is not true of the Earth.

“Yet, for a very long time, I have had a vision to make the Earth battle ready, so that the rest of the Universal Kingdom will see humanity as a strong and capable race of people. I wanted to make the Earth independent from the unknown reliance it depends upon, in myself and my comrades. The immortals have been a well hidden secret for eons from this world, but with the birth of the new supernatural community, it is time for that to change. It is time for the creatures of this planet to have an equal seat at the table in my kingdom.

“Then about nine years ago, I met a man that had a similar vision to my own and together, we have created a secret organization of super humans we have recruited from around the world. You see, during World War II, there was a lot of human experimentation going on and it created a new breed of humans, people with special abilities and powers. You might call them superheroes or mutants. But not only have these special people been recruited. People from the new age supernatural community have been recruited as well.

“Together, they work to defend their own world from threats both foreign and domestic. It has definitely given me a break from having to defend this world myself. It is there, at the Agency, that young Hope could be safe from all that might harm her, including my mad brother. But also, she could learn about her powers and also learn how to defend herself against those who might do wrong upon her. There are many at the Underground Agency that could aide the child and keep her safe.”

“I don’t think Nik would go for it,” replied Rebekah. “My brother’s a stubborn prat who thinks only he can protect Hope. It was a chore to pry him away from his daughter’s side just for a couple of days. He won’t let her go to some facility away from him. Believe me, Hayley’s been trying to get him to let Hope go to the Salvatore School in Mystic Falls for months to no avail.”

Eternity smirked at her. “Well, I have been known to be quite stubborn myself and very persuasive,” she said. “I’m sure I could convince him to do what is best for Hope’s safety. Bruno isn’t someone easily defeated not is he one to give up. Niklaus cannot contend with him, no matter how much he might want to try. This is especially true with the stronger my brother becomes. No doubt he will hunt the witches of this world, while lying in wait for an opportunity to take Hope - his true target. The safest place for this young one that is here on Earth is the Underground Agency.”

Elijah glanced at his niece and noticed Hope playing with the glowing blue pendant around her neck. It was the very one that Eternity had given her to protect her from whatever other evil she had sensed would come after the child when she had saved Hope from the Hollow. He asked, “What about the pendant you gave her, Eternity? Can that not protect her?”

Eternity looked at him and shook her head slightly. “It would protect her from anything Earth-based, but not anything from the Immortal Universe,” she explained. “I cannot give her a stronger pendant because any more power could have adverse affects upon young Hope. I had thought that whatever was coming would be of this world, not another madman from the distant stars - a long lost relative at that. There are not many options to protect the child, I’m afraid, besides sending her away temporarily.”

Elijah nodded in understanding, while his sisters looked at each other with worried expressions for their niece. He too was worried for the little girl they all adored, but he trusted Eternity to not steer them astray. She was his family’s greatest ally, after all, despite her stormy introduction to them initially.

“Uni,” Hope’s small voice called to the warrior queen with familiarity, catching her immediate attention.

Elijah was surprised, to say the least. He didn’t quite understand how it was possible, but it seemed that his niece knew Eternity already, if the nickname for her was any induces. They were familiar to each other, like they were old friends.

“Yes, young one,” Eternity replied gently.

“Will you stay with me? My dad and mom just left for out of town for a day or two,” she said with a little bit of fear in her voice, scooting closer to her. “I would like it very much if you’d stay, at least until they come back.”

The immortal smiled fondly at the child, “You know that I cannot say no to you, little one. I promise to be near, should you have need of me.” She smoothed back the girl’s red hair in a motherly fashion.

“Where did Niklaus and Hayley go, by the way?” Elijah asked Rebekah, having not known that they had planned on taking any time away from the compound.

“They didn’t go far, if that’s what you’re worried about,” she answered him promptly. “They went to the bayou to deal with some sort of drama amongst the Crescent Pack. I don’t know. I had stopped listening at that point, when they had asked Freya and I to watch Hope for them.”

“Perhaps we should call them back here,” Elijah suggested. “They should be made aware of this new development.”

Rebekah shrugged, “Those two haven’t had time away from the compound in ages. Leave them be, Elijah. I am sure we can deal with this, while they are gone.”

“Don’t worry,” Eternity spoke to him, getting slowly to her feet. She seemed to have healed as she stood taller and didn’t wince in pain anymore. “I will protect your niece and the rest of you lot with everything I am. Villains never win, least of all, when I’m around.” She winked at him with a small grin that set his heart racing through his chest involuntarily.

“Well, if all is good now, I think I’ll just go,” Gia piped up hurriedly, finally speaking, after being a figure in the background of Mikaelson family drama.

Elijah had almost completely forgotten about her being there until she had spoken. He felt guilty for it, but before he could say or do anything, Eternity was already intervening. He watched as she approached Gia gracefully, gently grasping onto the other woman’s arm, halting her retreat as she had turned to go.

“It isn’t safe for you to leave here,” Eternity said to her, kindly. “You have been living here for some time. Bruno no doubt knows this too. He could easily use you to get to Hope, just as much as any Mikaelson. You’re much safer here than out there on your own.”

Gia looked surprised to be stopped by Eternity of all people, but her expression quickly shifted into reluctance. “I don’t -.”

“Please,” insisted the immortal. “I do not want harm to come to you. I cannot protect you, if you leave here.”

Elijah found it odd that Eternity was being so insistent that Gia stay at the compound. Surely, with her psychic abilities, she knew that his engagement was over and why it was. Yet, she was wanting the other woman to remain. Why? It could have been the reasons that Eternity stated, but there was something more persistent than general care about another’s welfare in the pleading tone of voice she used.

Gia didn’t seem to notice the oddity in Eternity’s behavior, but that may have been because to others that didn’t know her, she seemed to be only asking in that caring way anyone would in the face of danger. With a heavy sigh, she relented. “Fine, I’ll stay,” she said uncomfortably.

Elijah found he shared in the newer vampire’s discomfort. It seemed a bit awkward to be holed up with the woman he just broken up with, while the woman he was pining for lived there too, and he was sure it was the same for her. Yet, Eternity did have a point. This new threat could use Gia for his own ends since she had been amongst the Mikaelsons for several years already. It was safer for her to remain with them. Elijah wouldn’t forgive himself if anything happened to Gia, despite the discontinuation of their relationship.

Eternity released her grip on Gia’s arm, while she smiled brightly and nodded, “Good.”

“Well, I suppose we should get another guest room set up,” Freya said politely, turning to head up the stairs to the second level. Gia quickly followed after her, saying that she would help her.

“Now that that’s settled, it’s time to get Hope to bed. Hel, are you coming?” Rebekah stated then, beckoning the girl to her.

The little redhead went without issue, following her aunt upstairs as well. Hel smiled at her mother, before trailing behind Rebekah and Hope.

That left Elijah alone with Eternity, making that awkward feeling he had earlier increase for a whole different reason. He hadn’t spoken to Eternity outside of a crisis since her return. She hadn’t seemed inclined to speak with him either. But now they were together again in the same room, alone and without crises to distract them from each other.

They stood there together like a pair of morons, to be quite frank. Eternity looked at him and he looked at her. Elijah had imagined this moment for the past decade. In all those imaginings, the words he had spoken ranged from angry rants to soft longing. Hell, he had even imagined simply taking her into his arms without words, kissing her lips, whispering his love, and then whisking her away to the nearest private space to make copious amounts of love to her.

Instead of saying or doing any of those things, there was only one thing that came to mind to say to her. “So...Uni?” Elijah says foolishly, as if he wasn’t the suave man of sophistication he always prided himself on being.

“Yes, Hope’s little nickname for me,” Eternity replied with a fond smile. “You’re niece gave that to me as a sign of affection. It was quite adorable and I had no desire to correct her.”

Elijah’s brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to understand, but was left with confusion. “You’ve met my niece before. When? Why?” He asked her, the awkwardness fading away as curiosity took hold.

Eternity sighed, looking away from him, “I came back a year ago on a whim. Loki was defeated for good, and while my duties to my kingdom kept me busy over these past years, they weren’t enough to keep me from longing for the place I left my heart. I didn’t find you, but I did find the child, running about at that old, abandoned farmhouse that your family was hiding out at from whatever threat you were facing at the time.

“I went to her as a unicorn, unable to stay away. She and I played in the fields and forests around the property in secret. The connection of fondness was instant. My motherly instincts kicked in and I swore I would protect Hope at all costs, which is why I can so quickly when Niklaus summoned me. Normally, that spell he used would have taken until nightfall, but I came swiftly because of it’s Mikaelson origin and feared something had happened to Hope. As I said before, I had thought it was someone else other than the girl’s father.” Finally, she looked at Elijah with a sad, longing smile.

Elijah wanted to reach for her as a result. He wanted to pull her to him as he used to. However, he refrained, for the time being anyway. “Why didn’t you show yourself to me?” He found himself asking her.

Eternity looked away again, hiding her face from him completely this time. “I wanted to. On one of my visits to Hope in the days that had followed, I finally did see you, but you were not alone,” she spoke softly, almost mournful. “Young Gia was with you and I realized then that you had moved on without me, as is to be expected. I have been away a long time. Duty does come before the heart, after all. Because of that, I kept my return hidden, as to not interfere with your happiness.”

Elijah felt a mix of emotions at her confession. He was angry and frustrated, first and foremost. These emotions stemmed from the truth of his situation, that many have been with another, but his heart longed for her. The past ten years had been hell for him, something that would have disappeared had she simply returned to him. He would have forgiven her for the pain and the misery, and would have finally been happy again. He would have been made whole.

Secondly, he was relieved that it turned out that she hadn’t abandoned him completely, as he had thought when she had left him at that Californian hotel. He spent the last ten years not knowing if he’d ever see Eternity again, which only added to his misery. The world had been a lot dimmer without her in his life.

Thirdly, he was hopeful. Hopeful that maybe, just maybe Niklaus was right, that maybe she would return to him and they’d stay together this time. Loki was dead and gone. There was nothing standing in their way now.

“I have been anything, but happy,” Elijah confessed to Eternity. “Without you, I have been lost in a fog of longing, uncertainty, and of course, heartbreak. Gia is a great woman. She is fun and bright and a very talented musician, but she isn’t you, Eternity. I can’t go back to how life was before I met you. Frankly, I don’t want to.”

Eternity looked at him apologetically. “I have done you a great evil and I cannot undo it,” she murmured sadly. “I am so sorry for the pain I have caused you. I never meant for such to come to pass, but I cannot stay with you. You are better off working things out with young Gia.”

She said those words to him, but Elijah could see in her big sapphire eyes that she was just as longing and hopeful as he. Her eyes were open windows to her most inner thoughts and desires. Eternity let the secrets she held shine for him there, despite her resistance to rekindling their relationship. Whether or not, she was letting him see the truth there intentionally was debatable, but the fact of the matter was that he did see it plainly.

Seeing her deception, he moved closer to her and with every step he took toward her, Eternity took one step back away. She was keeping distance between them, but her eyes were a mix of excitement and reluctance.

“Don’t,” she quietly warned. “Go back to Gia, please!”

Then Eternity turned to flee him. It was half-hearted. She could simply disappear if she didn’t want to be caught, and it was this fact that allowed Elijah to catch her arm firmly, spinning her back around to face him.

“I don’t want Gia,” he quietly growled at her, pulling her into him and wrapping his arm strongly around her. “I want you!”

Without letting her say anything, Elijah mouth descended upon hers in a fierce and unforgiving kiss. She resisted in that half-hearted way, struggling weakly against him, but when he made it clear he didn’t intend on letting her go, she stopped and soon melted into him. Though she refused to embrace him in return, Eternity began to kiss him back with the same fiery intensity he delivered unto her.

Elijah knew that his kissing her was impulsive. He simply couldn’t resist doing so. She was there before him, feeling the same things he was; longing and hopefulness. How could he stop himself, knowing this? It was like a dream come true.

Suddenly, the dream was interrupted by someone clearing their throat meaningfully. Eternity separated herself from Elijah and he immediately let her go. Her eyes were wide as they looked behind him. He turned and saw Gia standing there on the stairs with a disbelieving look upon her face. The hurt in her dark eyes was evident, and despite having officially broken things off with her, Elijah still felt guilt creep up on him for kissing another.

He glanced back at Eternity, but the warrior queen was already retreating quickly. He sighed heavily in disappointment, before returning his attention to Gia.

“Well, that certainly didn’t take long,” she snipped at him, her arms folded across her chest. “I was just coming down to inform your girlfriend that her room was ready, but maybe Freya and I just wasted our time setting up the guest room since she’ll be sleeping with you in your bed before long it would seem by that little display I just witnessed.”

Elijah shoved a hand in his pants pocket to hide his curling fist from the irritation he felt in regards to Gia’s disrespectful tone. He understood her pain and anger, but he was still an Original, no matter their intimacy. He stared at her pointedly.

“I just finished explaining to you the truth of my feelings,” he said to her, lowly. “I cannot be happy with anyone else, but her. Would you rather I deny my feelings, deny the truth and marry you instead, subjecting you to a life of half-hearted love and a whole lot of misery? Is that better for you?”

Gia stared back defiantly, “No, it’s not and yes, I know where your heart lies, but did you really have to make a move on her so soon? We did only break up like an hour ago, you know. I guess I really don’t mean a whole lot to you after all.” She climbed down the stairs and headed toward the arched entryway way in a huff.

Elijah realized she was leaving. While he didn’t blame her, as he was a right bastard for behaving so inconsiderately, he did remember Eternity’s insistence that Gia stayed until Bruno was dealt with for her own safety. He reached for her arm to halt her exit, but she whirled on him angrily and slapped him across the face, prompting him to let go of her immediately.

“Gia, you can’t go,” he said gruffly, acting unaffected by her strike against him, though the skin did sting a bit from the impact.

“Like hell I can’t,” she retorted, turning away again. “I’ll find my own way. Thank you.”

With that, Gia stormed off and exited the compound in the middle of the night. Elijah didn’t try and go after her. He simply let her go with the hope that she would be safe. He watched her form disappear around the corner onto the French Quarter street, which then left him standing there alone in the courtyard with his torrent of thoughts, aware of the white-haired goddess looming in the shadows, watching him.

**To Be Continued....**


	7. Dinner with the Mikaelsons

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**************

Elijah hadn’t seen Eternity for the rest of the night and then she continued to avoid him for the greater part of the following day. In the morning, he had heard from Rebekah that the warrior queen had sent Hel to go find Gia and protect the female vampire in her stead. Immediately following that explanation, his sister began to berate him for being a fool of a man for making a mess of his love life and so forth and so on. She said nothing that he hadn’t already known. At least, it kept things lively, he supposed. Though he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

It was fortunate that his brothers were all out of the house, staying with their ladyloves elsewhere. Kol was with Davina, Finn with Sage, and of course, Niklaus with Hayley. If he thought Rebekah was bad with her scolding of him, then his brothers’ teasing would have been unbearable. Yes, it was fortunate that they didn’t know he was a complete and utter failure when it came to love. Not that they didn’t already know that. Even Rebekah and Freya had successful romantic relationships: Rebekah with Marcel and Freya with Keelin. Everyone was happy in love, except for him. It was rather pathetic really.

Not that he wasn’t happy for his family. Of course he was, but because of their happiness, he certainly couldn’t forget his less than desirable situation. Though he did have a small glimmer of hope that maybe things could change for him, now that Eternity had returned.

It was some time in the early evening that Elijah finally happened upon Eternity, completely without intention. He found her standing in his study, looking out of the window at the lively city below. She was dressed in one of her simple flowing sundresses. It was a light gray one with little star shaped rhinestones spread over it.Her long white hair remained free and flowed around her, leaving him unable to see anything but her dress and her copious amounts of hair.

At the doorway, he knocked on the wood frame to announce his presence, causing Eternity to turn fluidly toward him with her hands folded sophisticatedly in front of her. She stared at her in that soul seeing way, perfectly still with slow blinks of her big eyes.

“Good evening,” he greeted her with a small smile, unfazed by her stillness. He was too used to it to be affected by her otherworldly ways. “I was wondering where you had gotten off to...after last night.”

She didn’t speak right away. Instead, she turned back to face the window first. She continued looking at the evening crowds of local humans and tourists alike wandering the French Quarter. She seemed more interested in them than anything else.

Then, just as Elijah was wondering of she'd speak at all to him, Eternity said, “I thought it best to stay away, after running poor Gia off like that. It was fortunate, I was able to fix the situation the best I could by sending my daughter out after her, to keep her safe from a potentially fatal encounter with my wicked brother.”

Elijah swallowed thickly from the left over guilt that still plagued him over the situation with Gia. “Yes, it’s good that someone will be there to look after her,” he agreed, though it sounded more rehearsed than heartfelt. “She’ll need protection.”

They fell into an awkward silence. Eternity refused to look at him still and it was driving Elijah mad. He wanted her to look at him. He wanted to see her lovely face, but she was denying him his desire. He didn’t understand why.

Elijah moved further into the room, moving closer to Eternity until he was almost directly behind her. She took him by surprise when she whirled on him with her head down defensively, as if she had a horn to point at him.

“Don’t,” she practically shouted at him with glaring eyes, causing him to halt in his approach with confusion written all over his face.

“Why? What’s going on?” Elijah murmured to her gently, though he dared not touch her.

Eternity softened immediately, straightening and blinking at him. “I am afraid,” she confessed right away. “I long for this, I do,” she gestured between them, “but I fear it as well. You don’t know how powerful it is, the feelings I have in regards to you.”

She turned away again, but Elijah noticed how her hands had fallen to her sides and how they shook with what seemed to be the fear she spoke of, but he had a different theory. They shook not from fear, but from restraint. She was holding back from him.

“You don’t know this, Elijah, but I tore Loki apart,” Eternity spoke quietly. “When I confronted him that last time, I was so enraged in my grief over having to leave you that I didn’t hold back, I didn’t show mercy to the man I once loved, to the father of my children. I simply tore him from limb to limb until there was nothing but a pile of unidentifiable body parts.

“I’ve only lost control like that over losing someone once and my grief had reached far and wide, but my feelings for you, about you are just as powerful and they are unlike anything I've ever felt before for another, even Loki. It is frightening, as much as it is thrilling, but I can’t afford such compromising emotions. There is too much risk in that.”

“For a woman who leads armies, wins battles, and defeats villains, you do have a lot of anxieties and fears over your romantic relationships,” Elijah found himself quipping lightly, despite the seriousness of what she told him.

Eternity turned just enough to look at him over her shoulder with a small smirk upon her lips to show she took no offense to his making light. “Well, you would too if the stronger emotions you have make the risk greater of turning demonic and genocidal,” she said. “While I was able to focus on Loki and appease the darkness in me by tearing him to shreds, that doesn’t mean that next time it’ll be so easy.” The smirk faded and she became grave again. “Say I stay and something were to happen to you, your death for example. What will become of me then? What will I do in my loss and grief? I don’t even want to think of it.”

Elijah understood completely what she was saying. Like her, his emotions were heightened, every single one was more profound than that of an ordinary human. He could easily go on a rampage, tearing through people and burning down cities, if he lost himself to his darker emotions, if he didn’t maintain a certain level of control. However, for Eternity, it was even worse than that. With her level of skill and power, any loss of control could mean disaster for great many more people. She had to be extremely careful in maintaining control over herself.

Even so....

“Well, if you’re so concerned about my death and what effect that would have upon you, you’ll just have to stay by my side and ensure that I remain alive,” Elijah told her smoothly with a soft smile.

Eternity looked at him blankly, before breaking out into a smile of her own. “You are relentless, you do know that, right?” She laughed lightly, shaking her head at him.

“It’s the Mikaelson stubbornness,” he responded with a shrug, drawing nearer. This time she didn’t try and ward him off. “You could tell me that the entirety of existence could be wiped out from this love and I’d still insist that we love anyway.”

She turned completely to him with that shining grace of hers, though she didn’t reach for him in any way. No, she kept her hands folded in her lap as she stood before him. Eternity did continue to smile softly, however, with her sapphire eyes gazing up at him in adoration.

Elijah came nearer still until his chest nearly touched hers. He wanted to kiss her again so very badly and he could see the same reflected in her eyes. Upon impulse, he reached up to cup the back of her neck beneath her wispy hair and with slow measured movements did he lower his mouth towards her. She was so close to him and there wasn’t any resistance now. The moment was perfect.

Then just as he felt her breath upon his own lips, there came a small knock on the doorframe. Immediately, he pulled away, dropping his hand from the back of her neck and turned to see Hope standing there with a curious and innocent look upon her rounded face. He was disappointed at being interrupted, but he felt his heart swell at the sight of his little niece, whom he loved dearly.

“Hope,” Elijah said with a fond smile. “What brings you here?”

“Aunt Rebekah wanted me to come tell you that dinner was ready,” the little girl replied neutrally and then asked Eternity, “Uni, will you be joining us?”

Elijah watched as Eternity moved around him to come a little closer to child. She smiled at her and nodded, “Aye, I’ll be there.”

Hope brightened considerably at her affirmation and skipped away, leaving them alone again.

Elijah turned back to Eternity with a sigh, realizing that their moment was ruined by the little girl. Yet, he knew there would be others. It was instinct that told him this.

So, he held out his hand to her, as he used to do in the past every time they were going somewhere. He was happy when she took it without any of her earlier reservations. However, upon closer examination, it was clear in her eyes that she was still uncertain about pursuing their relationship again.

Well, I’ll just have to convince her, he thought with a inward smirk.

Hand in hand, they left his study and headed down to the courtyard where there was an informal table set up for the family to dine at together. Though, most of the Mikaelsons were vampires and therefore, didn’t need to consume human food to sustain themselves, Niklaus and Hayley had made it a point to be as ‘normal’ a family as possible, which included sitting down to meals as any other family would.

Rebekah, Freya, and Kol were sitting at the table, without their significant others it seemed. Though this might have been because Davina and Marcel were out together in the Quarter, patrolling for potential threats to the city as they did occasionally. Keelin worked at a hospital and was more than likely at work.

Finn was absent which wasn’t a surprise. He rarely came to mealtime as he didn’t see the point in playing pretend at being normal when their family was anything but. No, to him, they were all still abominations and despite the truce between him and the rest of the family, Finn still remained bitter and resistant to accepting their existence - his own included.

Of course, Niklaus and Hayley were still gone, but word had it that they would be returning the following day. That meant they could discuss sending Hope away to the Underground Agency as Eternity had recommended soon enough. It was important that they spoke about what was best for the child as quickly as possible. It was only a matter of time before something happened.

For now, Elijah with Eternity in tow came to join the four remaining family members. All eyes fell to them or more specifically to Eternity herself. The looks of wonder were to be expected from them since it was the normal and common reaction to her. She was a vision as always, a bright and beautiful light for all around her.

Kol was immediately on his feet and coming toward them as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “It is nice to see you again, love,” he said to Eternity as he pushed past Elijah to reach for her hand and kiss the back of it like the charming gentleman he was, when he wanted to be. “If I had known you would be joining us, I would have dressed better.”

Elijah wanted to growl at his younger brother for his flirting, but refrained expertly from acting so primitively. Instead, he let Eternity deal with Kol, as if he was unbothered by his little brother.

“You are very kind, Mr. Mikealson,” replied Eternity politely. “Though, I assure you that your attire is fine for a casual family dinner. There isn’t any need to do anything special on my account.”

Kol smiled in that charming way of his at her in response. “Perhaps, but it seems like you prefer your men in formal attire” he said. “You did shack up with my stuffy, suit-wearing brother, after all.”

He meant it as a harmless jest, but Elijah found Kol’s bluntness to be inappropriate. When Kol glanced at him after speaking, he gave him an unamused look to drive home the point that he was being crass. Immediately. Elijah’s brother looked away and then cleared his throat nervously.

Eternity wasn’t as uptight as Elijah however. She grinned at Kol and said, “Yes, I did, but it wasn’t the suit that attracted me, it was what was underneath.” She winked at him cheekily, causing him to gape at her in surprise briefly, before it melted into a shit eating grin.

“Well, it seems you have a decent sense of humor, my lady,” he replied to her and then looked at Elijah to say, “I like her.”

Elijah smiled tightly in response.

“Can we please sit down before the food gets cold?” Rebekah called to them impatiently.

Immediately the three of them went to the table and each sat down. Eternity sat next to Hope and Freya on one side and Elijah sat across from her with Kol and Freya flanking him. There was a variety of kid friendly foods on the table. None of which were very sophisticated.

There was ashes potatoes with gravy, macaroni and cheese, breaded chicken tenders, and green beans. All these simple peasant foods were presented in the typical fine china that was kept at the compound. It was an odd sight indeed for the Mikaelson clan.

“Your food selections are quite...interesting,” Elijah commented of the food with slight distaste, while maintaining politeness to Rebekah whom had thrown the meal together.

“It was my idea, Uncle Elijah,” Hope piped up proudly.

He smiled fondly at the girl in return. “Yes, I can see that,” he said kindly.

“And there is absolutely nothing wrong with it,” Rebekah chimed in pointedly. “Sometimes simple is just as good as anything complex. Right, Hope darling?”

The child nodded in agreement with a grin, as she began to scoop macaroni and cheese onto her plate. The others at the table began to do the same, none seemed bothered by the subpar food. Elijah partook as well, of course, not wanting to hurt his niece’s feelings, but he really was not accustomed to the childhood staples she insisted on.

Look across the table, he was surprised to see Eternity eating the various foods eagerly, while she conversed with his niece with an easy that made it seem as if she were part of his family. It made his heart swell to see such a sight.

Elijah couldn’t help but to vaguely imagine what it would be like to have a child of his own with the warrior queen, as if that were even a possibility - it wasn’t. Vampires were unable to procreate. Still, it was a nice vision of what couldn’t be, even if they did rekindle their relationship.

During the meal, Elijah listened to Hope talk excitedly about the latest Disney film her mother had introduced her to: Frozen. The girl was telling Eternity how much she looked like Elsa the Snow Queen and how much she enjoyed the song ‘Let It Go’ from the film, with the immortal listening attentively to the child’s interest.

“Ah, yes, Frozen,” Freya interjected into their conversation with a smile. “Niklaus absolutely hates that film. So, Hayley has had it playing on repeat as often as possible. Hasn’t she, Hope?”

The girl nodded with a mischievous grin.

“Well, at least I know what to torture Niklaus with should he ever think to anger me...again,” Eternity smirked, looking around the table. “I shall ensure that ‘Let It Go’ is embedded into his brain, so that he cannot escape it’s tune, no matter what he does or where he goes.”

“That is absolutely diabolical,” Kol commented with a grin of his own. “I am sure that Niklaus would be impressed. I know I am.”

Eternity laughed a little and replied, “Aye, I’m sure he would be.”

The rest of the meal carried on lightly and uneventful. Afterward, Hope decided to go off and play by herself in her room, leaving the adults alone together.

Once dinner was cleaned up, which was a literal snap of Eternity’s fingers, they all decided to sit around the courtyard to drink and talk amongst themselves, though many of the questions and comments were directed at the warrior queen herself. The rest of Elijah’s family was still very much enthralled by her very presence.

Elijah sat down on one couch with Eternity sitting near him, which earned them both curious, knowing looks; though nobody dared to say anything about how close they were. In fact, they seemed generally happy about it, maybe because they noticed the change in their brother for the better.

He was feeling that hopefulness he swore he wouldn’t let himself feel if Eternity returned. That and he was simply happy to have her near again, especially knowing that she did want to be with him, despite her reservations. Once again, Niklaus was right. There was hope in Eternity’s return and while he usually hated his little brother for being right, this time he was glad for it.

“So, Eternity,” Kol said, as he sat in the chair beside the couch they sat on. “Tell me, love, just how powerful are you exactly? You never told us that, only that you were in a powerful position.”

Rebekah and Freya sat down on the couch opposite the one Elijah and Eternity sat on, each looking just as curious as Kol was about the immortal’s answer.

Eternity smiled mysteriously at the younger Mikaelson, “I am powerful enough to either save all of existence from utter destruction or to destroy it all myself. I could rearrange the stars, reorder time, and make the universes what I want them to be.”

“But you’re not a god,” Elijah smirked at her, to which she grinned at his teasing.

“No, I am not a god and neither were any of my predecessors,” she said, looking at Kol as she explained, “My ancestor did that last part I spoke of - Ceres. The reason why the Universal Kingdom exists as it does is because she used the ultimate power in existence to rearrange the one universe, splitting it into two. Though, she lost her life as a result. It’s a heavy toll upon the body to use that kind of power.”

Kol was even more intrigued by her then, but then again, he always did love magic and the science behind it. No doubt he would have been a great witch had he not been turned into a vampire all those centuries ago. Elijah knew that much to be true.

“Is that what would happen to you, if you use that kind of power?” He asked Eternity.

Eternity shook her head, “No, but this is only because I am the prophesied master of the Unicorn Crystal, the ultimate power of the two universes. I already had to use it once before and all that happened was I rebooted, meaning I lost my memories and reverted to my true form for a time until my body and the crystal recovered from the extreme usage of power. Though it did cause quite a bit of chaos nonetheless. My poor cousin did her very best to keep the kingdom running in my stead during that trying time.”

“Veren, right?” Elijah interjected.

She looked at him and nodded, “Aye.”

“Well, your station sounds like a heavy burden indeed,” Rebekah spoke. “I couldn’t imagine being responsible for so many nor be responsible for wielding such great power.”

“Yes, it is,” Eternity replied. “There has been more than one occasion where I wished for a different life. One that wasn’t so burdened, that didn’t keep me bound to a duty that, while I take seriously, I have no desire for. Ruling was my grandmother’s thing and she did it well. Mine has always been the soldiering. I’d rather be the solider than the queen.”

Suddenly, before anyone could say anything else, a newcomer came to call, disrupting their casual sit down. All eyes fell upon the new arrival, but only Eternity got up to greet her.

“Lady Veren?” She said with surprise. “What brings you here at this hour?”

Veren looked apologetic when she saw Elijah sitting there, though he didn’t know why until she quietly said to Eternity, “Forgive me, but there is a matter that needs your attention, Your Majesty. The Elf King Calithilon has requested an audience with you. He said it was urgent.”

Eternity sighed exasperatedly, “Aye. I understand.”

“Shall I send word of your arrival?” She asked.

“No, but I do have a favor to ask of you, cousin.”

Elijah had felt his heart drop at hearing that Eternity was leaving again. He didn’t want her to go, fearful she wouldn’t return. However, he was simultaneously curious as to the favor she was going to ask of her cousin, though he had a pretty good idea as to what it was.

“I want you to remain here and protect Hope and this family from any attack that may occur while I’m away,” Eternity instructed Veren. “I should be back by morning, but if not, Veren I need you to try and convince the girl’s father to send her away to the Underground Agency when he and his wife return tomorrow. Bruno is after the child and she needs to be somewhere safe. Will you do this for me?”

Veren nodded without hesitation, “Of course, Your Majesty.”

With that, Eternity turned her attention to Elijah. She studied him briefly as he stared longingly up at her. Perhaps she was reading his chaotic thoughts about her departure, because she smiled reassuringly as she said to him, “I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

He had no choice but to nod and let her go. Once he responded, she vanished, out of his reach once more. He only hoped that she did return to him soon, as she said she would. He didn’t think he could handle her being away from him for long, when she had only just returned to his life.

**To Be Continued....**


	8. Coming and Going

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**************

Eternity returned to the Mikealson compound by dawn, much to Elijah’s relief. In her absence, his siblings sat around and asked Veren a million different questions about herself and the greater universe, just as they had with Eternity. The dark haired immortal took it all in stride, answering their questions with patience and grace.

However, eventually Kol had to excuse himself after he received a text from Davina asking him to meet her in the Quarter. Then Rebekah and Freya had made their exits to tend to Hope, whom was playing by herself upstairs. That had left Veren with Elijah, which was fine by him.

They had had a nice conversation about all the adventures and conflicts Eternity and Veren had faced over the past ten years, aside from the one involving Loki. Elijah didn’t understand much of what she told him since he hadn’t ever been to any of the worlds in the greater universe she spoke of. Yet, he was still intrigued to listen to what Eternity had been doing over the years that they had been apart.

When Eternity finally returned hours later, she looked down at Elijah in surprise. He had been laughing heartily at the story Veren told him that involved a fight at a grand party Eternity had once infiltrated to confront some lowlife villain whom she required information from. Apparently, the man she was seeking was rather flamboyant and loud - a colorful character that was hard to take seriously.

Elijah was in the middle of laughing when Eternity appeared, worn out from her journey but amused at the sight that greeted her. “Well, it seems all is well,” she said to them with a warm smile. “I am glad for that.”

She went and sat down in the space between them with a tired sigh. She did so rather ungracefully, a rare thing indeed, and laid her head back on the back of the couch, which ended up laying partially on Elijah’s arm as well. Not that he minded any.

“Are you alright, cousin?” Veren asked Eternity with concern.

“Aye, I’m fine,” she nodded. “It is just exhausting when you are dealing with a lovesick elf king, whom cannot take a hint. I wish you would have told me it was a desperate social call and not one of urgent business, cousin. I might have declined going.”

Veren and Elijah both frowned; though for different reasons. Elijah frowned because of the implication that this elf king she had gone to see was a suitor. He didn’t like the idea of that, always the possessive one. He was a little jealous, but also felt relieved that it didn’t seem that Eternity reciprocated the mystery elf’s affections. Veren, on the other hand, had frowned in concern as if she hadn’t known that was the reason the elf king had wanted an audience.

“Forgive me,” Veren apologized, “The message sent to me had been misleading, if it had not been an urgent matter of state. If I had known the truth, you know, I would have declined it in your stead.”

“It’s quite alright,” smiled Eternity. “It’s not your fault, if you had been misled.” Then she explained what had happened without prompt, “Poor Calithilon meant well. He did have business for me, at first anyway. There was a small conflict with one of his generals that he could have handled quite well on his own.

“He had invited said general to a mediation dinner to discuss whatever the grievance was. I don’t know what it had been as I barely paid attention to it all, seeing I had walked into something else entirely. In fact, I was too caught up in the fine china and elaborate flower arrangement that made the whole affair feel more like a date than a conflict resolution meeting. I wonder if the elf general felt the same, which is rather amusing to think of.”

She giggled slightly, before continuing, “Either way, the issue was resolved quickly and that was when it truly began to feel like a courtship attempt. I was, of course, polite and patient. Calithilon is a good friend and a most important ally, after all. Then he invited me on a walk around his castle and it was pleased enough, but then he took me down to one of the elvish celebrations in the village outside his home. We danced and mingled there, while I tried to find a clever, but subtle way of leaving.

“Eventually, I simply had to tell him that I had business elsewhere to attempt to that needed my immediate attention. Of course, Cal was crestfallen, but he let me go, as he didn’t have much of a choice. I suppose there is a perk to being of a higher rank.” Eternity grinned at both Veren and Elijah. “It certainly helps when one needs to get out of a awkward situation.”

Elijah was unable to help himself then as he lifted his hand from the back of the couch and began to gently run his fingers through Eternity’s snowy locks. She relaxed even more and hummed in appreciation of his caress. Her eyes fluttered closed momentarily to enjoy his attentions.

“Calithilon is a very stubborn elf, I have to give him that,” Veren commented. “I doubt anything could deter him from pursuing his heart’s desire.”

“No, I think not as well,” Eternity agreed. “He has been at this endeavor for millennia after all.”

There was a brief quiet between them. Then Veren abruptly rose to her feet and bade both Elijah and Eternity a good evening, before taking her leave of them. Like her cousin, she had duties to attend to or so that was what she had quickly explained, right before vanishing before Elijah’s very eyes.

Immediately upon Veren’s departure, Elijah pulled Eternity to him. He tucked her into his side on the couch, wrapping his arm around her, while she contentedly laid her head on his shoulder. The pale immortal didn’t even act surprised by his actions. In fact, she seemed to welcome them. Elijah was glad for that, content in her willingness to be near him.

“I missed you,” he murmured to her, kissing the top of her head, before settling against the couch again.

“I missed you as well,” she replied without hesitation. “I hated to be away from you, despite all my reservations. I wanted to be here with you, all the while I was with Cal and especially before that, during our ten years apart. I haven’t felt so desperate to be with someone since my courtship with Loki, millennia ago. I know I have my fears about moving forward, but what lays here between us is certainly something not to be dismissed lightly or at all. I don’t know what comes next, but I am glad Niklaus has reason to call upon me.”

Elijah was just about to reply, to tell her he felt the same, to persuade her to return to his side officially, when Niklaus and Hayley came stumbling in, looking worse for wear. They were both covered in dirt and dried blood. Their clothes torn and tattered in places.

Immediately, he was on his feet with Eternity following suit. He was deeply concerned for them, though whatever had occurred, must have been a victorious endeavor. They seemed to be alit with the afterglow of a successful battle.

“A rough night, Niklaus?” Elijah asked his brother, as they drew near.

“Not at all,” the hybrid replied with a smug grin. “It was quite easy to subdue the upstarts in the bayou, especially with my wifey by my side.” He gave a proud glance to Hayley, who smirked in response. “Yes, we made a great team; the king and his queen.”

Elijah rolled his eyes, “As egotistical as ever, I see.”

“Oh, you should have seen him in the bayou,” Hayley chimed in with amusement. “His ego was out of control there, which was why we ended up looking like this.” She gestured to her dirty, tattered form, before turning to her husband, “You just couldn’t resist provoking those rogue wolves, could you Klaus?”

Niklaus frowned at her, “If I hadn’t done what I did, those pups would have reigned chaos down upon the Crescent Wolves. You should be thanking me for my diligent efforts to restore order to your pack, love.”

“Technically, it’s our pack, because we are married,” Hayley corrected him, “but yes, Klaus, you did well asserting dominance in the bayou. Gold star, A+ to you. Now can we please get some sleep? I’m beat.”

A lecherous grin spread upon Nicklaus’s lips then, “And who said I was about to allow you to sleep at all tonight, my little wolf? I am feeling rather ravenous.”

Hayley blushed under his gaze and then rolled her eyes exasperatedly, but she didn’t say anything for or against his suggestive comment. Instead, she simply grinned and did her best to ignore him, pretending he hadn’t said what he had.

“Actually, Niklaus,” Elijah stepped in. “Eternity and I would like to discuss something of great importance with you both.”

The grin upon his brother’s lips turned innocently playful then as his attention fell upon Elijah. “Oh? And what would that be?” He said with a teasing tone, gesturing between his big brother and Eternity. “Have you two decided to rekindle your romance? Or perhaps a step further and you’ve decided you can’t live without each other and you have chosen to elope? If it’s either of those things, I heavily approve.”

Elijah smiled at his little brother, while Eternity moved to stand beside him and placed her hand in his affectionately. He looked at her adoringly and then turned back to his brother to say, “No, not quite that. It is an urgent matter that has to do with young Hope.”

Immediately, the playful teasing was wiped from Nicklaus’s face. Both Hayley and he grew deadly serious as they drew closer to them. “What of my daughter?” Elijah’s brother quietly demanded. “What has happened?”

“Nothing,” he replied immediately to set his brother and sister-in-law to ease. “Eternity has merely come up with a solution to protecting Hope from the danger that she faces.”

Niklaus’s gaze fell to the shining immortal beside Elijah, “And what solution would that be?”

“There is a place I know, located here on Earth, that can protect your daughter against any threat from my wicked brother,” Eternity answered. “I can guarantee that the young one would be safe there, until the threat has passed.”

“This is a joke, right?” Niklaus stubbornly responded, looking between Elijah and Eternity. “Send my daughter away? That is your grand suggestion? Hell would have to freeze over before I would ever send my daughter away! No, out of the question!”

Eternity stepped forward a little with a stern expression. “Then you could potentially be sentencing your daughter to her death,” she said firmly. “Now is not the time for prideful stubbornness. This is a matter of life and death. I cannot remain here like some sort of sentinel forever. I have duties to attend to, as do my closet companions. We cannot be here to guard young Hope at all times. Bruno could attack at any moment. You must consider what is best for your child.”

“The only thing that is best for Hope is to be where I can protect her,” Niklaus ground out.

Hayley approached then, grabbing onto her husband’s arm, catching his attention.

“What? Don’t tell me you are actually considering this nonsense?” He said to her in agitated disbelief. “We are her parents, Hayley. She belongs with us, where we can keep her safe.”

“But we can’t keep her safe, Klaus,” the female hybrid replied gently. “This isn’t a threat from a wolf or a witch or a vampire. This is something we just are not capable of defeating. It’s beyond us. I think we should consider what Eternity is suggesting.”

“If it is being away from your child that you are so concerned about, Niklaus, I can assure you that separating you from her and her from you was never my intention,” Eternity interjected in an attempt to ease Elijah’s brother. “I wish to send you two there with her, so that you can look after Hope as you’ve always done, while her safety is maintained.”

Elijah watched as Niklaus settled a bit. His shoulders relaxed and he sighed deeply, as he considered the warrior queen. “And to where do you plan on sending us exactly?” He asked quietly, defeatedly.

“It is a secret organization, one that I helped found some time ago,” Eternity answered him readily. “It’s called the Underground Agency. It is the most secure place on Earth, run by super humans, as well as members of the supernatural community. Fortified like Fort Knox, it cannot be penetrated by anyone, especially not Bruno. Hope will be safe there.”

“And what of the rest of my family? What will become of them while we’re away, especially if your brother does come to call and finds Hope missing?” Niklaus demanded to know. “Shall I go and leave my family to die? Leave them to their fates? I think not.”

Eternity smiled reassuringly as she explained, “I admire your commitment to your family, but I highly doubt Bruno will attack here, if Hope is absent. We of the immortal classes have a special talent for sensing the life forces of others. If he cannot sense her here, then he will seek it elsewhere. However, to ensure that my brother doesn’t attack, I will simply have to devise a decoy to lead him astray. Your family will be safe in your absence, I promise.”

Niklaus was quiet for a time, looking down in contemplation. Then he looked between Hayley, Eternity, and Elijah. Finally, with a huff of defeat, he said, “Very well. At midday tomorrow, we shall go to this agency you suggest. We should let Hope say her goodbyes to her aunts and uncles.”

Elijah sighed a breath of relief, as did Hayley and Eternity. Each was glad that Niklaus saw reason in this. He watched as his younger brother took Hayley by the hand and lead her up the stairs, to their bedroom assumingely.

This left Elijah alone with Eternity once more. He wondered where to go from there. Now that they spoke sense into Niklaus, there wasn’t any reason to stay up. Their mission for the night had been completed. Yet, he didn’t want to part from Eternity. Through he knew that they were not quite ready to resume the physical aspect of their relationship, of course, having barely begun to reestablish their relationship on a whole, he wasn’t quite ready to say goodnight to her.

Then Eternity turned to him then with a soft smile and kissed his lips with willing sweetness, taking him by pleasant surprise. “I have to go,” she murmured to him reluctantly, with a knowing look in her eyes as if she had read his thoughts. “I must make preparations at the Underground Agency for our little family’s arrival,” Eternity explained, “but I shall return before midday. I’ll come back to you soon.”

Elijah didn’t like how she was coming and going so much, but knew that he had let her do what she must. So, with reluctance to see her go, he threaded his fingers through the hair framing her face and then cupped the back of her head, pulling her in for a more passionate kiss than the one she had given him before.

“Don’t keep me waiting for too long, Sweetheart,” he murmured against her lips, before parting from her completely.

She grinned at him, “I promise to be swift.”

Then Eternity vanished, leaving Elijah standing alone in the courtyard.

**To Be Continued....**


	9. A Farewell Breakfast

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**************

The rest of the night was agony. Elijah could unwillingly hear Niklaus and Hayley being intimate. Hell, everyone in New Orleans could probably hear those two. It only served to drive him mad as it remained him of his own escapades with Eternity, making him long for her while she was away. His body ached for her presence, for her skin against his, just as it had for the past ten years. The want of her was worse now, however, since she had returned, but remained out of his full reach...for now anyway.

He paced his bedroom with a glass of bourbon in hand. The liquor was calming his nerves, which were frayed from his anticipation for Eternity’s return. Niklaus was right, he wasn’t his own anymore. Eternity had a hold of him so completely that it made it impossible to not desire her to be near by. He was starting to understand why Loki had been so obsessed with keeping Eternity and trying getting her to return to him for four hundred years. Though Elijah would never act so abhorrently as he had, he still could sympathize with the Trickster in his need for Eternity.

Now that the immortal woman had returned, his need for her only grew - and of course, he didn’t just mean physically speaking. It wasn’t that he couldn’t live without her. He could, if he had to. Hell, he had been doing so for ten years. No, it wasn’t that. It was simply the fact that he didn’t want to live without her. He wanted to keep her with him permanently; as permanently as possible.

Though they were a long way off from even considering it, marriage did come to mind. However, Elijah wasn’t sure if Eternity even recognized such a concept. Did her people even have marriages? He knew she had been in a committed relationship with Loki, but she never did say if she had been married to him. He wondered if marriage was viewed differently for the immortals beyond the stars. Maybe a committed relationship was a marriage to them? Or maybe there was a different way for two lovers to bind themselves together forever. Perhaps some sort of spell or ritual. Elijah didn’t know, but he wanted to find out.

Hours passed with wonderings such as this swirling through his mind, as he continued to pace, refilling his glass of bourbon every now and again in an failing attempt to calm himself enough to cease moving. Upon making such a realization of failure, Elijah moved from his bedroom into an adjacent room where he kept a shiny black grand piano. Music always helped sooth his restless mind. So, it was there beneath a small crystal chandelier that he sat and began to play a quiet, soothing tune.

Yes, the music definitely helped keep him distracted from the mess of a man he was with Eternity away. It had certainly helped before, whenever he had been feeling particularly miserable over the past decade. Though, at that time, Gia would often times play along with him on her violin. He smiled softly at the memory. They had made some great music together, he had to admit. She was so musically in tuned that he could play anything and she would be able to jump into the melody seamlessly.

Thinking of Gia, Elijah couldn’t help feeling the pang of guilt again over how things had ended between them. She was definitely better off without him, but he still felt as if he had lost a good friend as a result of his selfish careless attempt to move on with his life after Eternity had left. Perhaps one day, she could forgive him and they could remain friends.

“Elijah,” called Eternity from behind him suddenly, breaking his thoughts regarding the other woman immediately.

He paused in his playing abruptly and turned to see her standing there in the doorway of the adjacent room. She was smiling softly at him, dressed in a flowing white dress with her hair braided over one shoulder and decorated with pink roses. With the subject of marriage not far from his mind, Elijah couldn’t help thinking that she looked like a bride on her wedding day.

“Eternity,” he whispered her name.

He went to get up and go to her, but he didn’t get a chance to get far, as she quickly approached him at the piano. “Don’t stop playing on my account,” she said as she sat on the bench beside him, facing the keys. “You play beautifully.”

Elijah smiled, turning back to the instrument and resumed playing. She listened to it contently for a few moments before she surprised him by joining in, turning the tune into a duet flawlessly. He looked at her briefly and she smirked at him as their hands moved in perfect sync together, each playing their own part with professional expertise.

“I wasn’t aware that you could play,” Elijah said to her, while they played. “Though I probably shouldn’t be as surprised as I am that you can.”

“The piano is one of my favorite instruments,” replied Eternity. “The guitar, in all it’s forms, is my other. I’m quite apt at both actually.”

“Beautiful and musically talented. My type of woman,” he winked flirtatiously.

She laughed lightly, before growing a little somber. “Speaking of musically talented, I received word from Hel about Gia, while I was away,” she told him, looking down at her hands as they moved over the piano keys. “My daughter told me that Gia told her to go away in less than flattering language at first, but thanks to Hel’s stubborn persistence, the young vampire has come around to her presence.”

“I see,” he replied, mirroring her somberness while he glanced at her. “Well, at least, we know she will be safe. Thank you for ensuring as much.”

“Of course,” Eternity replied, looking at him in return with a small smile.

They played in silence for a little while longer, until the melody wound down and soon they stopped playing all together, ending their duet. Elijah smiled at Eternity and she smiled back at him. Upon impulse, he leaned over and captured her lips in a sweet kiss, cupping the side of her neck in his hand as he did.

She sighed in contentment, reciprocating his affections eagerly and mirroring his movements. Her small hand reached up and cupped the side of his face, as she pulled herself closer to him.

His other hand that had been resting on the keys of the piano reached over to wrap around Eternity’s waist, holding her gently in his grasp as their kiss intensified. His tongue slipped into the warm cavern of her mouth, tasting her throughly. She moaned slightly. Elijah could hear her heart racing in her chest in excitement, her breathing becoming labored as desire began to course through her.

However, before things could escalate, a small voice suddenly called into the room, “Uncle Elijah?”

Elijah and Eternity broke away from each other immediately, looking over at the doorway to see Hope standing there, dressed in her pink nightgown, looking curiously at them. Elijah rose from the bench and went to his niece, picking the seven year old up and asking her, “What are you doing up?”

“I heard the pretty music,” she replied with a giggle from being lifted up. “So, I came to investigate. Would you play some more, Uncle Elijah? Please?”

“I don’t know if your dad and mom would appreciate it if I didn’t send you immediately back to bed,” he told her with a smile. “You do have a big day ahead of you.”

“Yeah, I know. We’re leaving, because of the bad man trying to take me away.”

“Exactly.”

Elijah set Hope back down on her feet, just as she reached for his hand, tugging on it pleadingly. “Please play, Uncle Elijah? Pretty Please? For me?” Hope looked up at him with those big blue eyes of hers.

It was enough to make even the strongest man cave. Sighing in defeat, he smiled down at her and relented, “Alright, but if anyone asks, this was completely your fault. Understand?”

Hope nodded vigorously up at him, before practically skipping over the the piano bench. She sat next to Eternity, who smiled adoringly down at the girl, and waited for Elijah to join them.

He went and sat down on the other side of Hope, reclaiming his original spot at the piano, and quickly began to play a soft, upbeat tune for the child. Eternity soon joined him, turning the melody into another duet. Together, they played flawlessly, while entertaining his niece, making the girl laugh giddily.

They played for a long time, playing various tunes, all of them happy and child friendly. Hope enjoyed it immensely, bringing smiles to the faces of the two adults, as she smiled and laughed and sang along, making up the words as she went. It was a beautiful moment, one that Elijah was surely never to forget.

Some time later, Hayley and Niklaus appeared in the doorway fully dressed for the day, no doubt looking for their daughter whom had been missing from her bed. This signaled the moment’s end, as it meant that morning had come and it was time for the last gathering of the Mikaelson clan as a whole before his brother took his wife and child away to safety.

Hayley took Hope away, back to her room to dress for the day, while Niklaus remained to make a request of both Elijah and Eternity. He wanted them to prepare the morning meal, as Rebekah and Freya had been away for the rest of the evening, after he and Hayley had returned from the bayou, spending time with their significant others. They would return by mealtime, but wouldn’t be around for the preparations.

Elijah and Eternity both agreed to help out and once they had, Niklaus walked away.

Once more they were alone with each other, but now there was work to be done. Elijah stood from the piano again and extended a hand out to Eternity, whom took it graciously, rising from her seat as well. He kissed the back of her hand as she came around to stand by his side, making her smile at him with affection in return.

“Shall we, my lady?” Elijah said.

“We shall,” she nodded, and then laughed lightly.

Taking her by the hand, he lead Eternity out of the room and headed down to the kitchen.

Normally, Elijah would have simply went into town and compelled wait staff and caterers into serving his family’s meal. They were aristocrats after all. It was the seemly thing to do. Yet, he also understood that this meal was a very personal, family oriented one that required a personal touch, just like all the other normal family meals that both Niklaus and Hayley insisted upon.

Therefore, he set to work once they arrived in the large, state of the art kitchen. He moved about the space expertly, preparing breakfast for the entire family as of it were nothing. Eternity aided him, working along side him by hand as non-magic people do. She had mentioned how she could conjure a full scale meal with her powers when they were getting started, but Elijah quickly dismissed it. The kitchen was a no magic zone, he had told her and made her laugh.

From there, the two of them cooked eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and they made fresh squeezed orange juice to drink. They conversed as well. Elijah told her stories of the meals he used to have as a boy that his mother used to cook. He spoke of how she was a fantastic cook, one of the few traits of his mother that he could speak fondly of. He told Eternity about how he would help Esther prepare meals, having taken joy in it and having a talent for it.

Then as what often happened when Elijah spoke of his family, the happy tale turned sour as he spoke of how Mikael hated his enjoyment of cooking, seeing it as an unworthy pursuit for a make child, outside of a need for survival in the wilderness. Otherwise, cooking was woman’s work and growing boys hadn’t any business cooking or taking enjoyment in it. Mikael had always taken Elijah from his mother’s side, whenever he was caught enjoying helping his mother making meals. He would take him outside to train in more manly skills, such as hunting or fighting.

Eternity listened intently to his tales and then spoke of her own upbringing under the harsh guidance of her grandmother, Queen Galaxia in return. She told him of the difficult and relentless training, showing her no mercy as she trained Eternity to be the great warrior she was prophesied to become. It had been quite the change from the carefree and easy life she had been leading under the care of her aunt and uncle as a child, according to her, and difficult to adjust to at first.

It seemed that they both had rather trying upbringings, something that they found they shared in common. Though he didn’t know if that was a good thing to have common ground in a rough childhood. Either way, Elijah felt himself grow closer to Eternity whenever they spoke of their pasts. It felt as if they were connecting, finding things to bind them together.

Soon the meal was ready. As if on cue, Niklaus came into the kitchen to announce that everyone had arrived; a good thing, because that meant that everything had been prepared on time. There was a certain precision to cooking a large meal for a group of people and timing was everything. Once his brother had made the announcement to them, he disappeared again to rejoin their family.

Since there was a lot of platters, bowls, and whatnot to carry, Elijah finally allowed Eternity to use her magic to get everything to the big table set up in the courtyard. With a snap of her fingers, all the food and drink that they had made together was off the kitchen counters and onto the long table out of their current view.

Once again taking Eternity by the hand, Elijah lead her out of the kitchen and down into the courtyard where everyone was waiting. There were a few faces that he knew that Eternity hadn’t seen yet sitting amongst his siblings. Freya’s girlfriend Keelin was there, as was Rebekah’s Marcel, Finn’s Sage, and Kol’s Davina.

Elijah and Eternity were the last to join the family, being the preparers of the meal. All eyes fell upon him in friendly greeting, while the wondering eyes of Keelin, Davina, Marcel, and Sage fell upon Eternity, staring at her shining grace in that newness way everyone did upon first seeing her. The chatter between family members had quieted immediately at their arrival to the table, but it became deafening as the first timers took in the immortal queen. It was as if everyone stopped upon the noticing of her by them.

“To those that haven’t had the pleasure,” Elijah announced to the table, “I would like to introduce to you, my lady, Eternity.”

“Good morning to you all,” said Eternity with a warm smile. “It’s a pleasure.”

There was a collective ‘good morning’ in return. Then Niklaus told those that didn’t already know about how this plan to protect Hope was all from Eternity herself. He had said as much with gratitude to her.

Elijah and Eternity sat down at the table, in the last two vacant seats next to each other. He, beingever the gentleman, pulled her chair out for her and once she was seated, pushed it in for her. Then he sat down himself beside her. Once they were comfortable, everyone began to dig into the food that had magically appeared upon the table.

Of course, Davina, being a powerful witch took much interest in the magical being that was Eternity. She asked a bunch of questions, wanting to know more about her. Elijah’s lady readily answered every one of the young woman’s inquiries patiently, having grown used to the curiosities of others. Keelin, Sage, and Marcel all listened to Eternity’s talk about herself with the same interest as the witch.

Other than the many questions for Elijah’s lady, the entire meal was light and friendly amongst family. The conversations were plentiful as were the laughs and amusement. Elijah felt his heart warm at the sight of his family together and while without any animosity or tension between them, despite the circumstances of such a gathering being bittersweet. Niklaus would be leaving soon with Hayley and Hope, but at the moment, all that mattered was the togetherness of family.

Once the meal was over, Niklaus decided to make a toast, in that dramatic way of his. He always had to make a profoundly heartfelt speech, Elijah thought with amusement. Though in this case, it was understandable seeing as their family was splitting up for an undetermined amount of time.

“My family is the most important thing to me,” Niklaus said to the table. “Though we’ve had our share of ups and downs, we always manage to find our way back to each other. I promise you all that we will be reunited. Once the threat against Hope has been dealt with, we will be a family made whole again. Until then, I hope that each of you continues to look after each other, living happy and fulfilled lives as the Mikaelson clan. And remember our family motto: Always and Forever!”

The entire table erupted into gentle applause and words of agreement to Niklaus’s rousing words. Hope smiled and cheered for her father, while Hayley looked at her husband proudly.

The festivities carried on for some time after that, but soon the happy family moment had to come to an end. After making the farewell rounds to everyone, Niklaus, Hayley, and Hope left the table to gather their belongings and returned a while later, announcing to Eternity that they were ready to depart for the Underground Agency. The time had come for them to leave the Mikaelson compound and the atmosphere grew more somber, stealing away some of the earlier lightness.

Eternity joined them as she was to be their guide. Before departing, however, she went to Elijah and kissed in farewell in front of everyone, promising to return to him soon. Like the other times before, he didn’t like the idea of her leaving his side, but he understood she would come back. So he let her go.

Without waiting another moment, Eternity rejoined his brother, sister-in-law, and niece, spiriting the three of them away with their belongings in a vanishing act that was instantaneous and left the rest of the family in awe.

“That’s quite the disappearing act,” Kol quipped with amusement. “I wonder how much she charges for instant travel.”

“She’s not a bloody taxi service, you wanker,” Rebekah shot back with a smile. “Have some respect.”

Everyone that remained broke out into laughter, reclaiming a bit of the joyfulness from before.

**To Be Continued....**


	10. The Night Eternity Fell

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**************

Three months passed by quickly since Niklaus, Hayley, and Hope went away. They had been rather uneventful and certainly quieter without the boisterous Niklaus around or the people he angered on the regular coming to seek vengeance. Not that Elijah or Kol didn’t have enemies that could come to call at any time. Still, the Mikaelson family found a moment’s peace to relax and find some enjoyment in the simpler things in life, like their lovers for instance.

Speaking of lovers, Eternity had returned alone within an hour of dropping of the little family at the Underground Agency, just as she said she would. After that, for those three months, she didn’t leave Elijah’s side, remaining with him more often than not. They spent their time talking and laughing or regaling each other with tales of their respective histories while cuddling close. Elijah would wine and dined Eternity often too, taking her to all sorts of places in New Orleans, showing her the great city he, Niklaus, and Rebekah helped build many years ago.

He enjoyed her childlike fascination as he showed her the wonders around them. She enjoyed the liveliness of the locals and the tourists alike. Then, of course, there were those of the supernatural community that they would encounter every now and again, particularly the witches who entertained the ignorant humans with their simple tricks and whatnot. They always stared in wonder at Eternity, giving her an instinctual respect that wasn’t necessarily conscious.

It was entertaining to see the New Orleans witches humbled. They had been a thorn in his family’s side on more than one occasion since they returned to the city. So to see their smugness wiped away by Eternity was highly amusing and well deserved.

Yes, those three months had been beautiful and Elijah found himself happier than ever - a change from the ten years of misery before her return. Their bond was only growing stronger, especially since the physical intimacy aspect of their relationship had yet to be reestablished, giving them focus on their emotional ties.

Though Elijah wanted Eternity very much, and each day it grew harder for him to hold back, he was patiently waiting until the right moment to finally give in and reclaim her body for his own as he had her heart. He was in no real hurry this time around and he had decided that the moment simply had to be perfect for sexual intimacy. Eternity didn’t seem to mind waiting either, just enjoying their time together.

At night, they would cuddle up in his big bed at night and fall asleep in each other’s arms. He simply wanted her close, even if sex wasn’t on the table currently. He fell asleep next to her and woke up with her by his side. It was everything that he wanted. He was just glad Eternity was there with him. It was a miracle that he wasn’t about to take lightly.

Then, after all that time of peace, a crisis came about to disrupt the contented peace at the Mikaelson compound.

One night a group of ten strange immortals from the Immortal Universe came to the compound, while Elijah and Eternity were sharing a romantic meal together in the courtyard. The pair had been talking about simple things of no consequence, when they came. They were pale humanoid creatures with elongated fangs and some were armed with crudely made bows and arrows.

“Vampires,” growled Eternity in irritation, as she got up to face them.

Elijah got up too, coming to stand beside her. “They don’t look like vampire,” he commented quietly to her.

“That’s because they’re not of your variety,” she replied, flashing him a small smile. “These ones are from the other side of the divide. They’re more powerful, stronger, faster, and certainly more animalistic. I need to take this one alone. You’re no match for them.”

Elijah wasn’t a fool. He knew his limits. “Very well,” he said in understanding as he stepped back. “Just be careful.”

Eternity nodded back at him, “Will do.”

He watched from a distance as she turned back to the her opponents, her clothes shifting into her typical battle garb of a corset and leather leggings as she did. In her hand appeared her unsheathed katana. “What are you doing here, Blaine?” She called to the one that stood ahead of the others rather casually. “Don’t you and your crew have better things to do than to be embarrassingly defeated...again?”

The vampire named Blaine said nothing. In fact, he didn’t seem to be aware. His yellow eyes were dead without emotion. He simply growled in response, before signaling for his underlings to attack.

Eternity was relaxed as these vampires were familiar to her, it would seem. She stayed perfectly still as they moved around her, spreading out until they formed a a half circle in front of her.

Elijah could hear their animalistic growls and hisses as they prepared for an attack against her. None of them seemed to notice him standing there watching the battle unfold, which was a bit insulting really. It was as if they didn’t even register him as a threat. Maybe he wasn’t, but even so, it was a hit against his pride as one of the strongest supernatural beings on Earth. He wasn’t used to being considered inferior and it didn’t settle well with him.

Then the attack happened, distracting Elijah from his disgruntlement. Eternity moved with that almost impossible to follow precision with her blade. She sliced through two of the unarmed ones right away. Three more tried to sneak up behind her, but she was already prepared, turning on them and decapitating all of them in one swing of her blade.

There was a brief pause where the remaining four underlings were unsure if they should proceed in obeying their leader’s command. Obviously, they didn’t want to die needlessly, seeing that Eternity was stronger, more skilled, and that they were certainly no match for her. They danced about, hesitating.

Yet, Elijah’s lady didn’t show mercy. Since they would not attack her, she went after them, killing them all with a few swift motions, leaving only the leader, the one she had called Blaine, alive. She pointed her blade at him and said, “I have defeated your minions once again. Shall you finally face me yourself or shall you run away as you always do, you coward!”

Blaine hissed and roared at her like a beast, before doing the latter and rushing off with a vampire speed that was even greater than that of Earth-based vampires. It was impressive, to say the least.

Eternity sighed as she willed the katana away and turned back to Elijah exasperatedly. “Like I mentioned to you long ago,” she said as she rejoined his side, “they like to come after me at random - the creatures of darkness. Drawn to my light, my power, just to try and stomp it out. A futile effort, to be sure, but they simply cannot help themselves. It’s a instinct that must be answered, even if it means their deaths.”

Elijah smiled softly at her, reaching out to comb his fingers though the hair along the side of her head. “I can relate,” he replied. “I too am drawn to your light, but in a different context, of course.” He chuckled.

She laughed lightly and smiled adoringly at him in return. It was sudden when her face scrunched up in pain. She groaned next and then collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

He shouted her name and fell to her side in alarm with his usual finesse, though more urgent than normal. He scanned over her body, looking for any sign of injury. That was when he saw the bite mark upon her arm. It was swollen, red, and oozing a puss of a pale green color. It sort of reminded Elijah of Niklaus’s bites. If only it had been, then she wouldn’t have been affected by it. No, this was something else, something potent to an immortal of Eternity’s caliper.

Immediately, he lifted Eternity into his arms and rushed her upstairs into his bedroom, where he laid her gently on the bed. She didn’t stir at all, not a sound made either. She was comatose. He would have thought her dead, if it hadn’t been for the slight sheen of sweat upon her skin and her labored breath.

He called for Freya, screaming her name as loudly as he could. Moments later she was rushing into the doorway, followed by Kol and Davina, whom had also heard his rather frantic call. They all gathered around the bed with concerned curiosity.

“What’s happened, Elijah?” Freya asked urgently upon seeing the ill, unconscious immortal.

“A vampire bite, not one from this world,” he answered quickly. “I need you to cast a particular spell that will call Lady Veren to us. She’ll know what to do.”

His older sister nodded in agreement without hesitation, “Where’s this spell?”

“In Niklaus’s art studio, there are markings on the floor,” explained Elijah. “Use them to call Veren here. I don’t know the language of the immortals that he used, but maybe you don’t need them. Just lay your hand over the markings and make the call! Now!”

Freya seemed a little uncertain, but did as he instructed, leaving the room quickly for their brother’s art studio. Kol followed her to see what he could do to help being well-studied in magic despite his vampirism, while Davina remained behind.

“Is she going to be okay?” The young witch asked Elijah, who’s attention was on Eternity’s sickly form the entire time,

“I don’t know,” he replied hoarsely, his voice full of emotion.

Flashes of Tatia and Céleste’s deaths flew through his worried, distraught mind. Elijah didn’t want to lose another woman he loved, especially when he only just got her back. He didn’t think that he could bear it. His mind had been in a rational place at that point to remember that it would have taken a lot more than a vampire’s bite to kill Eternity. However, since this was the first time he had ever seen anything take her down, he couldn’t help but think the worst.

Freya returned to the room a few minutes later with Kol in tow. “Well, we did our best,” she sighed. “Those runes were meant for summoning Eternity, but hopefully this Veren will get the message and come quickly.”

Elijah nodded, “Yes, let us hope she does.”

For what seemed like half the night, he stayed by Eternity’s side, as did Freya, Kol, and Davina. Those three stood around the room to wait for Veren to answer the call they had made, while Elijah sat in a chair by the bed. He had gotten comfortable during his vigil, having taken his suit jacket off and rolled up his sleeves past his elbows. He remained leaning over Eternity all the while, holding her hand in his as they waited.

Finally Veren appeared in the doorway, looking concernedly between the two vampires and the two witches, who looked back at her with a mix of worry and relief. “You lot called?” She said as she moved further into the room.

“Yes, I did, on my brother’s request,” Freya nodded and then gestures to the ill Eternity. “We have a situation.”

Veren immediately crossed the room to her cousin’s bedside. “What happened?” She asked them.

“A vampire attack. She killed all but the leader,” Elijah explained to her. “However, she was bitten by one of them and collapsed suddenly. Tell me you can help her. Tell me that something can be done.” He was urgent and desperate.

The raven-haired immortal looked sympathetically at his pleading face. He knew he wore his worry openly, yet at that moment he didn’t care. Veren smiled softly at him and gently explained, “There’s nothing that needs to be done, Mr. Mikaelson. My cousin will recover on her own within a day or so. Vampire venom is deadly to some types of immortals, but certainly not we of the Royal Family. This isn’t the first time Her Majesty walked into a vampire fight carelessly and was bitten, probably won’t be the last either.” She laughed a little before she assured Elijah, “The point is your lady will be fine.”

Elijah breathes a sigh of relief and almost immediately began to feel foolish for not realizing what he already knew to be true. Of course, Eternity was going to be fine. Yet, he had let his worry get the better of him.

“I’m glad that you were so worried for my cousin, Mr. Mikaelson,” Veren smiled warmly at him. “It assures me that she is in good hands with you. Your love for her is a wonderful thing, don’t ever stop loving her or worrying about her. She needs it in her duty of great risk.”

Elijah returned her smile with one of his own. “Thank you, Lady Veren. I promise to always take care of her,” he replied.

“Well things certainly turned nauseatingly sappy in here,” Kol piped up teasingly, then turned to his girlfriend. “Come along, Davina love, let us leave this realm of mushiness before it rubs off on us. I hear it can be quite contagious.”

Davina laughed lightly at Elijah’s brother’s jest, shaking her head at him, as she took Kol’s hand and let him lead her from the room.

“Glad your lady will be fine, brother,” Kol called back to Elijah as he went. “Don’t need you moping about again.”

Elijah shook his head at his younger brother’s retreating form, sighing exasperatedly and rolling his eyes at his antics. “Sometimes I think it was a mistake undaggering that one,” he grumbled teasingly, not at all meaning his words.

“But then things would be so incredibly dull without his smart mouth, brother,” Freya smirked. “Where would we be then?”

He grinned at his sister, just as Veren reached over to touch his hand that still encased Eternity’s. His attention immediately fell back to her as she told him, “I will stay here with you until she awakens. She’ll be fine, but I do have some choice words for her when she awakens about this little incident.” She smirked at him playfully.

Elijah nodded in acceptance, happy to have her company.

It was there that Freya took her leave of them, going back to her own lady Keelin now that the crisis had been resolved.

Veren sat on the bed and watched Eternity with him for the next twenty four hours until they both heard Eternity sigh and open her eyes at last. The white-haired immortal blinked and then groaned painfully, before she sat up and realized she had the company of not only Elijah, but her cousin as well.

“What happened,” Eternity asked, “and why are you here, cousin?”

Elijah immediately kissed her hand that still lay in his and then reached over to kiss the side of her head in his relief to see her awake. He was elated that she was alright, not that he had any reason to doubt. He knew she’d be fine.

“I was called in by Ms. Mikaelson as you had decided to go head first into battle with Blaine’s vampire gang again and got yourself bitten by one of those vermin as a result of your carelessness,” Veren wasted no time in chastising Eternity, making the immortal queen frown deeply at her in a childish pout.

Elijah found it adorable and couldn’t help kissing her head again. “I’m glad that you’re alright, Sweetheart,” he murmured to her. “You gave me quite the scare.”

Eternity looked apologetically at him, “I’m sorry, Elijah. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“You don’t deserve tenderness,” Eternity’s cousin carried on at her in irritation. “You underestimates your enemy, didn’t exact enough caution, and paid the price, worrying your lover needlessly as a result. You are no amateur, cousin, but this was the most amateurish mistake you could make. Just what were you thinking?”

The white-haired goddess groaned at Veren’s nagging tone. “Yes, Yes, cousin. I get it; bad move, need to be more careful. I understand.”she was dismissive of her cousin’s rebuke.

Elijah paid little attention to their exchange as his heart swelled from Eternity’s lack of correction when Veren called him her lover. It made him happy that she quietly recognized him as such, though he wasn’t at all surprised that she did. They were growing closer every day, all over again.

When Veren opened her mouth to say more, he noticed Eternity’s annoyance and stepped in to say to the nagging woman, “Lady Veren, perhaps now isn’t a good time for correction. Your cousin did just awaken.” He was diplomatic in his tone.

The fuchsia eyes woman sighed heavily and nodded, “Yes, I suppose not. Take care of her, Mr. Mikealson. Be sure to keep her from further recklessness. I’m sure she’ll listen to you.”

Eternity scrunched her face up at Veren in response, while Elijah chuckled and agreed to Veren’s instruction of him regarding her stubborn cousin. That sour expression turned on him when he did and it only made Elijah chuckle at her and kiss the palm of her hand in affection.

Eternity’s cousin sighed and said her farewells to the two of them.

Once Veren vanished from the room, Elijah turned his full attention on Eternity, reaching to cup the back of her neck and kissing her lips tenderly in his continued relief that she was alright. He smirked inwardly as she sighed and melted against him, reciprocating his attentions eagerly.

With reluctance, he eventually pulled back, beckoning her to lay back. “You need to rest, Sweetheart,” he murmured to her, as she did as he silently requested. “Regain your strength. I’ll be right here with you.”

Eternity smiled at him softly, nodding in acceptance of his suggestion. Then slowly she closed her eyes again, this time in a gentle sleep.

Elijah remained ever vigilant, watching over the sleeping immortal, until he was unable to hold back from sleeping himself. He gingerly climbed into the big bed beside Eternity when the need for rest came over him. Pulling himself close to her sleeping form, he cuddled her to him. Quickly did Elijah fell asleep, contented and so very happy.

**To Be Continued....**


	11. The Troubled Band

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**Author’s Note** : I know that we’re already eleven chapters in and there hasn’t been any Elijah x Eternity smut yet. Don’t worry it’s coming. This sequel is simply more slow burner in that regard than Elijah’s Eternity. Thank you for reading nonetheless!

**Special warning** : There is a mention of incest in this chapter! Just a heads up!

**************

Once Eternity was fully recovered, she revealed to Elijah that the vampires that had attacked had been controlled by someone else. It made sense as those creatures did seem rather vacant. They both immediately came to the same conclusion - Bruno. Together they had decided that it had been retaliatory attack upon Eternity as a result of him discovering her game to divert him from finding Hope. Not one meant to kill her or even strike fear into her. It was a simple tantrum from a madman whom wasn’t getting what he wanted. At least that was what Eternity had explained to him.

Of course, Eternity had to reassure Elijah that his niece was safe still at the Underground Agency. She explained that Bruno didn’t know about the place and even if he had known, he wouldn’t be able to get in. Because he trusted her completely, he had immediately calmed and kept himself from getting worked up unnecessarily.

“Bruno is a broken man, lost and unloved with a grave affliction for madness,” Eternity told Elijah as they sat at Rousseau’s together one afternoon after her recovery.

They had gone there just to get out of the compound as she was feeling stifled after being bedridden for a couple of days. She had found herself restless and caged in. So the quaint little bar was Elijah’s solution. A change of scenery was always a help to the cooped up feeling. He had done as he promised to Veren and taken care of her cousin splendidly, ensuring she wanted for nothing in those couple of days she laid in bed and that care continued even after she had recovered.

“Who is Bruno exactly? I know he is your brother, but you’ve never spoke about him before,” Elijah said, as his casually gripped the lip on glass of bourbon in front of him. “I would assume you would have mentioned your psychotic brother at some point in our time together. So why didn’t you?”

“Because I was not made aware of him until recently,” she replied with a small smile. “The Lady Veren had a bit of an adventure all of her own some years ago. She encountered my mad brother and one other: my twin sister named Kara.”

Elijah was surprised by this revelation, having not expected it. It was visible upon his face, he was sure.

Eternity laughed lightly at his reaction and said, “Oh yes, I have another sibling, though a non-mad one.”

He sat up a little straighter in his chair, intrigued, “So, what happened?”

“Veren had to free Kara from Bruno,” she explained. “The story goes, my brother suffered from dark inclinations early on. He was a dutiful son in the beginning, but only because he believed that he was meant for greatness, meaning that he wanted to be ‘the chosen on’, the keeper of the ultimate power of the two universes. Then my mother became pregnant again, with Kara and I, and that was when my grandmother had her vision of my ‘greatness’; though I’d hardly call it that.

“Anyway, this truth that he wasn’t meant to be this might immortal didn’t settle well with Bruno and the darkness in him only grew. He plotted against our family, wanting the power he believed was meant for him by any means. Then when my sister and I were born, he decided to steal ‘the chosen one’, but hadn’t anticipated twins. He ended up taking Kara by mistake and raising her. Well, more like abused her. He trained her to be as evil as him, training her to be as powerful as she could be and making her into his personal little assassin.

“However, there was more to it than that. Bruno, in his madness, developed a most disturbing obsession with me, despite us having never met, up until recently that is. He claims he’s in love with me, his sister. Since Kara and I look more similarly than others of our family, being twins and all, Bruno not only abused my sister physically and psychologically, but also sexually once she was fully grown. He manipulated her into loving him as a lover would, twisting her into accepting such a disgusting practice by normalizing it. It was all for this obsession with me that Kara suffered these heinous crimes.”

Eternity paused. Her hand on the bar top tightened into a fist as anger coursed through her at the thought of what her sister had dealt with. Her sweet face contorted into a violent scowl.

Elijah reached over and covered her fisted hand with his larger one. “I’m sorry that your sister had to suffer,” he said to her gently. “This Bruno deserves death for that crime alone. It’s the worst crime a family member can commit against another family member. I loathe the man even more, now that I know this.”

She smiled at him in gratitude, “Do not worry, my love. He will get his. I promised Kara he would and so he shall.”

“And what of this Kara? Where is she now?”

“She’s safe at the Universal Palace, at the far edge of the Immortal Universe, where Bruno cannot reach her.”

Elijah was surprised again. He often forgotten about Eternity’s status as a intergalactic queen and because of that, it was still hard to imagine her having a palace somewhere out there amongst the stars. She was a leader with immense responsibility, yet she was sitting casually at a bar with him - an Earth man. It was a bit mind blowing and humbling, to be sure. She simply made it easy to forget she was a powerful queen of a vast kingdom as she never flaunted her status or used it to her advantage in any way.

“If our ten years apart taught me anything it’s that I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but right here, Elijah,” Eternity continued to smile at him, having heard his thoughts. “Perhaps one of these days, I’ll take you to the Universal Palace and anywhere else you want to go, beyond the stars.”

“I would be honored,” he replied with a look of affection of his own.

They fell into a companionable silence for a short time then, enjoying each other’s company. Soon the bar became a little livelier as a local band took the small stage and began to play. They were amateurish at best and Elijah had to wonder where Joshua got them from. Even the other patrons seemed to feel the way he did as they looked at one another with awkward expressions.

Eternity must have felt the same too, because she visibly cringed. “I know that everyone has to start somewhere, but more practice is definitely needed for those boys,” she said to him. “But perhaps, for now, I can help them out in a different way - a little divine intervention.” She winked at him.

Curiously, Elijah watched as Eternity got up and moved around the various tables with her typical shining grace toward the band, of which was starting to realize they weren’t doing so hot on stage. Others watched too with wonder, but he barely paid attention to them. His eyes were on the woman he loved.

Once she got to the stage, she had the band stop playing. The four young men looked at each other and then at her in wonder, before she started a friendly dialogue with them to explain she wanted to help them out. They were soon nodding in acceptance of whatever arrangement she had made with them and then she took the stage, sitting at the unused piano that sat in the front, but off to the side slightly.

Immediately Eternity began to play beautifully with a mix of classic and modern sound. The amateurish band members around her also began to play. This time they sounded phenomenally better. Each member looked surprised at the miraculous, almost magical difference in their sound. The melody they all played was of haunting beauty, hard and gothic, upbeat and dramatic.

Then Elijah’s lady began to sing. Her voice was just as hauntingly beautiful as the music, as were the lyrics of the song she sang. They were poetically metaphoric and mournfully longing. It mesmerized Elijah and the entire thing spoke to him on a deeper level than he thought possible. The crowd felt the same. Everyone and everything went quiet as the band played now.

Soon there were people moving from their spots to stand before the stage as if the music as a magnetic force, pulling them in. They began to sway and sing along, despite never having heard the lyrics before. Some even began to cheer them on before the song was even finished. It was interesting and of course, Elijah wondered whether it was Eternity’s magic calling them or if she was simply that talented a musician.

Eventually, the beautiful immortal’s voice faded and then the melody ended. When it did, all of Rousseau’s erupted into loud applause and whistles. Eternity gave all the attention to the young men of the band, praising them over stealing the spotlight from them. Then she took a quick bow at the audience’s insistence before climbing down from the stage and rejoining Elijah at the bar.

“That was beautiful, Sweetheart,” he said to her with a proud smile.

Eternity shrugged nonchalantly, “Oh, it was just a bit of magic mixed with natural talent, with the magic being to aid those boys only. I made them promise me that they would practice more often, that they would get better. Once they did, I gave them the help they needed as to not suffer the embarrassment of a terrible performance.”

“Well, I am sure they appreciate it,” Elijah told her.

Then, as if on cue, the lead singer of the band came rushing over through the crowd to where they sat. He was youthful, maybe twenty years old with dark shaggy hair and bright blue eyes. He wore a graphic tee and a flannel shirt over it with torn up jeans. Upon seeing Elijah, he instantly became wary, instinctually sensing the danger that was the Original, but then when he turned his attention to Eternity, he smiled brightly with a perfect set of teeth.

“Uh, Miss?” The boy said in order to get Eternity’s attention, who had her back in his direction as she leaned upon the bar.

Eternity turned and smiled warmly at the youth in return, “Ah, hello again. What might I do for you, young man?”

When she referred to him as a ‘young man’ in such a way that made it imply she was older than him, the boy looked at her oddly. Physically speaking, Eternity actually appeared younger than the wannabe musician and so to him, as one that didn’t know of her status as an immortal, it was a strange thing to say. Yet said immortal didn’t seem to even notice the confused look he gave her. She simply carried on smiling politely, waiting for him to tell her whatever it was he wanted to say to her.

“Um, yeah, so my boys and I just wanted to say thank you again for what you did back there,” he told Eternity with a bit of nervous excitement. “You really saved our asses.”

“So long as you keep you’re promise to practice more, one day that performance just now will be every performance,” she responded kindly. “You won’t need, as you say, your asses saved then, because you’ll have reached your potential and you will shine.”

The young man looked appreciatively at her in response, “We’ll keep our promise. Thanks again, Miss! We won’t forget it!”

With that, the boy disappeared into the crowd to join his band mates. There was a lightness in his step as he went that showed how uplifting Eternity’s words to him had been.

“Your kindness known no bounds,” Elijah said to Eternity adoringly, once the boy was gone.

Again, Eternity shrugged, “I was simply giving those boys a push in the right direction. They have what it takes, so long as they put the effort in. If they do that, then they will know only the greatness of success. If not, then they will face utter failure. The choice is theirs. No magic in the world can turn them into something they are not. Not even I can turn them into true musicians. It is all up to them.”

“Well, here’s to hoping they do not squander the blessing granted to them by the goddess watching over them,” Elijah raised his half empty glass in a toast of sorts, before downing the rest of it quickly.

“Still not a god,” Eternity rolled her eyes and sighed exasperatedly with a small grin gracing her pink lips as she looked at him beneath her eyelashes.

He grinned back, finding her good mood infectious. “Debatable,” he replied with a tilt of his head, before ordering another drink from the bartender.

She simply laughed lightly and shook her head at him.

Elijah downed the new glass of bourbon put in front of him and then pulled a wad of money from the inner pocket of his suit jacket. He left enough to not only cover the drinks he had, but to give the bartender a more than generous tip. Then he lifted Eternity’s hand to his lips and kissed the palm, before taking said hand and leading her out of Rousseau’s.

Eternity followed without question as they took to the streets. There were crowds of people all over, as was typical during anytime in New Orleans. Yet, the pair casually strolled around them, enjoying the warm southern weather.

Elijah enjoyed watching Eternity watch the people with that childlike curiosity of hers, as if it were the first time she had ever seen human beings, despite that not being true. She had seen humans being...human...plenty of times during their time together and surely before then too. Yet, there was always this wonder about her as she observed the human world with her own eyes.

It was as adorable as it was fascinating.

Then a sudden chill down Elijah’s spine interrupted his observance of his lady and caused him to pause, pulling Eternity to a stop beside him. He immediately started to scan the area, looking for whatever or whoever he had sensed instinctually as a threat.

It was there across the street that he saw her, standing there on the corner looking at him point blank; Céleste! She was in her original body, dressed in the casual garb of Sabine, her last body jumped identity, making it obvious to him that it was her. Not that he could ever forget her face. But how was that even possible? He had killed her ages ago, stopping her from jumping bodies and being a threat to his family. So how was she standing there now?

“Elijah?” Eternity called to him in concern, gripping his arm in the hand he wasn’t holding. “Elijah, what’s wrong?”

He looked back at his lady with a confused expression before looking back across the way, only to find that Céleste was gone. She had vanished. Elijah thought he was going mad then, uncertain of what he had seen. Could it have been a trick? Perhaps, but that still begged the question: why?

“It’s nothing,” answered Elijah unconvincingly. “I just thought I saw something.”

Eternity frowned at him, but didn’t demand to know the truth immediately. Instead, she let him carry on walking with her in tow as if his strange pausing hadn't happened at all.

He tried to ignore the face of Céleste that now haunted him. He did his best to dismiss it as nothing. Little did Elijah know, just what kind of trouble awaited him, trouble that he wouldn’t be able to ignore for long.

**To Be Continued....**


	12. We Are Reunited +18

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**Warning** : Smutty chapter is smutty! You have been warned!

**************

Elijah escorted Eternity all over the French Quarter, but not just to enjoy the day with her. He found he was deeply concerned about what he had seen earlier. Céleste’s face continued to haunt him, chasing after him like an apparition that wouldn’t leave him be. He went looking for her in a subtle way, taking his lady all over the place, trying to see if he could find the long dead witch while acting as a tour guide to the immortal queen. Yet, there wasn’t any sign of her.

Just what in the hell was going on?

“Elijah, you saw something earlier,” Eternity finally said to him, as they reached the docks. “You are troubled, searching for something or someone. A witch? Ah, an old flame that is supposedly long dead.”

She was searching his thoughts, yet he didn’t care. He wanted to be open to her, always.

“Céleste DuBois, yes,” interjected Elijah, as he looked out over the water. He had let go of Eternity’s hand and now stood a little ahead of her with his hands shoved into his pants pockets, a sign of his troubled state of mind. “I saw her earlier or something that looked like her anyway.”

His lady came closer to him, “I did not sense evil or any sort of power. Though that doesn’t mean that something sinister isn’t going on, of course.”

He turned back to her and saw the concern upon her lovely features. Immediately he went to her, cupping the side of her neck with a soft smile and then pulling her into his embrace. Holding Eternity calmed Elijah’s stormy thoughts. The feel of her warmth and the sweet scent that seemed to permeate through every part of her was exactly what he needed at the moment. She gave him clarity - and peace.

Pulling back a little, he kissed Eternity’s forehead tenderly. “I apologize for dragging you around,” he said quietly. “I should have told you what I saw when it had happened. Instead, not only did I take you all over the place with ulterior motives, but I also forced you to search my thoughts for the reason to my strange behavior.”

Eternity smiled at him,“Elijah, it’s alright. I’d probably do the same, if an apparition of my former lover showed up out of the blue. Don’t worry, we’ll find out the truth of this matter. For now, let’s go home.”

Elijah took her hand in his again and brought it to his lips, kissing the palm gently. Then, still with her hand in his, he lead her away from the docks and headed back to the Mikaelson compound.

For the rest of the day, the two of them spent cooped up in his study. Elijah and Eternity spent that time attempting to figure out what he had seen or rather what it could mean. The immortal queen had tried multiple different spells and powerful tricks, but came back with nothing. Eternity was the most powerful immortal there was, yet even she couldn’t find the origin of what it was he had seen. Not the energy of a spirit or of someone pulling the strings.

“I am powerful, not all powerful,” she explained to him, when she kept coming back empty handed. “Perhaps, there is someone cloaking their power, keeping me from seeing them. Though it doesn’t help that we don’t know to what end anyone would want to send visions of your former flame, if they were visions at all. Maybe whomever this is, is Earth-based. An old enemy of yours? You and your kin do have a lot of people you’ve angered over the years, but if that’s the case, then they are definitely partnered with someone from the other side of the divide.”

Elijah thought about it. It was possible there was someone out there with a vendetta against him. In fact, it was very plausible. It wouldn’t be the first time some former lover or friend came out of the woodwork with some grievance against him personally or one against his family. And if this someone found a partner from the Immortal Universe, much like his own brother had once upon a time, then that made them all the more dangerous.

“But who would care enough to form such an alliance on the immortal side?” He wondered. “I doubt it’s Bruno. This doesn’t seem like something he would bother with, as gaining power is his goal.”

Eternity nodded, “Aye, it’s not my brother and there’s only one other person whom knows you from the Immortal Universe that is of darkness.”

He knew exactly to whom she referred, “Loki? But how is that even possible? He’s dead.”

“Nothing is impossible, especially where he is concerned,” she smiled humorlessly at him. “It’s very possible that he’s up to something beyond the grave. What that something is, I can’t begin to guess, but if it is him, that apparition you saw is no doubt just the beginning of whatever scheme he has planned.”

Elijah didn’t like the sound of that. Loki was supposed to be gone for good, yet Eternity was telling him that the Trickster could be up to no good from beyond the grave. Again, they didn’t know what it was that he was attempting to accomplish, except for driving Elijah to madness perhaps. One would think that Loki’s target would be Eternity herself since she was the one that he was obsessed with and the one that had killed him, but it seemed the Trickster wasn’t interested in being predictable, choosing the Original as his target - if it were indeed him as the cause, of course.

“We’ll just have to wait and see if Céleste shows herself again or if some other new development occurs,” the immortal queen told him. “Then maybe we can start to piece together whatever is going on.”

Elijah sighed defeatedly, “Yes, I suppose that is the best course of action.”

Eternity grinned humorously at him then, a little laugh escaping her, which prompted him to gaze at her curiously.

“I’m unclear as to what you find funny here, Sweetheart,” he said sternly, folding his arms across his chest. “Care to share?”

“Forgive me,” she replied, “I was just thinking about how glad I am that you’re the patient one, unlike your hybrid brother Niklaus. Then I had a humorous vision of him wanting to burn the Universal Kingdom and beyond to the ground looking for Loki or whoever the culprit is in this, as we both know he would. It was rather cartoonish, the rage of which he was using, in my vision.”

Elijah then smirked, “Well, who’s to say that I don’t want to do the same? I might be calmer than Niklaus, but I can be just as ruthless and determined as him. Maybe burning down the entirety of your kingdom is the course of action I wish to take.”

Eternity rolled her eyes at him, “I should say not, you’re not reckless or impulsive enough to want to take on the entire Universal Kingdom. I could see your brother going head first into confrontation with the Immortal Universe without considering the fact that he is in no real position to make threats or demands, nor is he capable of contending with those on that side of the divide in the first place. Despite being completely out of his element and lacking any real knowledge of the immortals, Niklaus would play alpha and stroll about as if he owned the place. It wouldn’t go over well at all - for him, I mean.”

He chuckled as the imagery of his little brother going around and trying to command those stronger than him danced around in his mind. Yes, that was rather humorous and completely plausible. It was fortunate that Niklaus didn’t have the means to travel that far and that he was stuck being an Earth-based immortal with the same limitations of travel as humans.

“I admit,” he said to Eternity, “that is quite amusing to think about and you’re correct in that I would never behave in such a reckless way. It’s certainly not my style.”

She approached him then with a fond smile and he immediately drew her against him bodily, unable to resist doing so. Her hands wound around his neck and her fingers threaded through his short hair. Then they kissed passionately, her lips upon his in a dominating fashion.

“I know you’re worried about this new development with your former,” Eternity murmured against his mouth, a twinkle of mischief in her sapphire eyes, “but maybe I can help take your mind off it, even if for only a little while.”

This was it, he thought. This was the moment that Elijah had been waiting for in the months he spent reconnecting with Eternity. Finally, it felt right to make love to her, as he had desired to since her return into his life.

Elijah didn’t move to stop her as she kissed him even more vigorously and let her push him back until he collided with one of his ceiling to floor bookcases. The shelves and their contents rattled with the force she used, but neither paid much attention to it. He grunted in response to the rough treatment, but quickly recovered.

His hands were on her instantaneously, running up her back and then gripping the silky fabric of the light blue sundress she was wearing in his strong grip and cleanly tearing it in two. Once the ruined dress pieces were tossed aside, Elijah cupped one of her breasts and kneaded it firmly in his palm. His other hand reached up to tangle in the hair at the back of her head, fisting it tightly and tearing her mouth from his.

They stared at each other; their chests heaving wildly in their passion, their eyes burning with pent up need that they had been holding back from each other over the past few months. It was only a beat before Elijah’s mouth was upon hers again in a dominant and devouring kiss, his tongue darting into her mouth where he tasted her like a starved man. She could only cling to him in his frenzy, gripping his shirt in her hands as she let him have his way.

Then with her superior strength to his, Eternity pushed him back into the bookshelves again, ripping her mouth from his in the process. This time things came crashing down off the selves around them, but neither immortal cared. Their eyes were locked upon each other as they stared in that wild, frenzied sort of way again for a split second, before the queen began tearing his clothes from his body in the same way he had her. Her little hands proceeded to tug his suit jacket from him, undo his tie deftly, and then she literally tore his dress shirt into two, so that his upper body was completely bared to her.

She admired him before she started on a downward path. Her mouth attached itself to his jaw, his neck, his chest, his abdomen. Her hands trailed after her lips, touching him so delightfully that he felt himself shiver slightly in pleasure at the light contact. His eyes remained on her as she knelt before him on her knees, kissing his skin just above the hem of his pants. Then her gaze returned to his face for a second, a wicked smirk upon her pink lips, before she eagerly undid his belt and opened his pants, tugging them and his boxers down just enough to expose his hardened length.

Eternity didn’t waste another moment. Her mouth enveloped him like a starved woman, taking him into the warm wet cavern and swirling her tongue over the hot flesh of his cock as she did. It was instantaneous that his hands found their way to be tangled in her hair. His head lulled back against the bookshelves as his eyes screwed shut from the wonderful feeling of her mouth upon him. He parted as his heart rate climbed from her attentions.

Then she began to bob, taking him in and out of her mouth steadily. He couldn’t help it when his hips bucked in response to his lady’s ministrations. It wasn’t long before instinct drove him to take control and he began to thrust in and out of her mouth of his own accord. It was incredible a feeling, especially as she relinquished control to him. However, when he got to the point he could feel the end approaching, he forced her to withdraw.

With her hair fisted in one hand and that suave finesse of his, Elijah knelt down gracefully like a predator before her. “I don’t normally use crude terms,” he said with a quiet rumble, “but Sweetheart, I am going to fuck you until you beg me to stop...and then some.”

Eternity moaned and shivered at his words, her tongue poking out to lick her lips. Her sapphire eyes flashed at him in their burning with need. “Do it,” she challenged wantonly, her voice rough from her own passion.

Elijah pulled her mouth to his then, kissing her fervently. As he did, he moved slowly to push her back against the hardwood floor until she lay flat with him hovered over her, between her parted thighs. Her hands raked up his back and tangled into his short hair, while one of his reached between their bodies to align his cock with her wet entrance.

With one hard thrust, he was inside her and he stilled upon burying himself to the hilt. The feeling of it was intense, especially since they had been apart for over a decade. He had forgotten just how wonderful it really was to be inside the goddess - his goddess. But he didn’t remain paused for long as his body cried out for him to take her to the fullest of his ability.

He wasn’t gentle as he took her. His thrusts were rough and needful, but Eternity wasn’t exactly idle or gentle either. Her nails continued to rake up and down his back, while they continued to kiss passionately, his mouth having never left hers. He snarled into her mouth from her much welcomed abuse and it drove him to take her even harder and faster then before until she was letting out a muffled scream.

One of his hands returned to tangling in her hair, while the other supported him on the floor beside her head. The needful, animalistic energy between them was so greatly intense that Elijah found himself digging his fingers into the hardwood, splintering it from the strength he subconsciously used and leaving claw marks with bits of blood there as a result. He didn’t even notice it or the pain it caused, as he was simply lost in Eternity.

Elijah carried on obliviously, fucking Eternity into the floor until she was tearing her mouth from his and screaming at the top of her lungs from the pleasure that wrecked her body - all of which was his doing. It wasn’t long before they had reached their peaks and were tumbling over it together in a blinding bliss that left them both screaming to the heavens as their orgasms tore through them.

Elijah collapsed upon Eternity in a momentary bout of weakness, his energy zapped from him. His form trembled against her quaking one. Finally, he thought in his euphoria, finally she was his entirely again. He laid a kiss to her neck, where he had buried his face in the aftermath of their joining.

They rested there without words being exchanged. They were simply contented. However, it wasn’t long before the wild passion they had for each other was reignited and they were once more tangled in each other. So lost were they to their need that they hadn’t sensed nor seen the shadowy figures floating just outside the study windows, watching them with sinister intent before vanishing again.

**To Be Continued...**


	13. When Morning Comes +18

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**Warning** : Smutty chapter is smutty! You have been warned!

**************

The study was completely ruined. It had been torn apart in the animalistic lovemaking of Elijah and Eternity. There were books, trinkets, and shattered glass scattered across the floor in various places along the walls, where both lovers had found themselves pressed against the shelves and being effectively ridden, at one point or another through the night. Elijah’s desk had it’s contents thrown about the room as well and worse, the vintage piece of furniture had it’s legs broken under the force of Elijah’s thrusts as he drove into Eternity’s wet warmth from behind. Even the curtains had been partially torn down when he had his lady pressed against the glass, wanting the people of the city to see her being taken by him. She had gripped the fabric of the old curtains so tightly that eventually they came down in the oblivion of the moment.

There was other furniture - chairs and end tables mostly - that had been tossed about when Eternity playfully tried to escape him. Some had been turned over, while others had been torn through on his journey to claim her again. The floor also had been effectively abused, and not just the one time where Elijah’s blood and claw marks lay. There were other places too that he had taken her that had been marked by his digging fingers. Her claw marks joined his in a one spot as well.

Yes, the room would need to be mended. However, at the moment, Elijah lay upon the only price of furniture to escape their sexual madness - the couch. Eternity slept peacefully curled upon him with her head and one of her hands against his chest. A blanket that had been on the back of the makeshift bed had been tossed over them haphazardly, before they had passed out together in exhausted bliss.

Elijah had been awake for some time, while Eternity remained sleeping against him. He slowly stroked her hair in his affection for her, as she did. He laid there reminiscing about the wonderfully erotic afternoon and night they had shared together. He could feel himself harden at the memories that danced through his head.

Yes, his love and desire for his lady was indeed insatiable. He had always wanted her, but now that they had crossed this particular line in the reestablishment of their relationship, he could have her at his leisure. He no longer had to hold back, to be patient and chaste. And he didn’t plan to. Ever again.

Eventually, Eternity began to stir against him, where she lay between his legs on the couch. She sighed with contented tiredness, despite the good amount of sleep she had gotten. Once Elijah had ceased going after her, that is. He had kept his word to take her over and over again until she begged him to stop. She was hoarse when she finally did.

“Good morning, Sweetheart,” whispered Elijah into her hair.

She sighed and groaned as she stretched against him. “Good morning, my love,” she murmured in return, her voice still gruff from their prior activities and from sleep. Then she snuggled into him affectionately and sighed again in happy contentment as she settled once more.

He grinned against her head, holding her tightly to him. “My study has been effectively destroyed,” he said offhandedly.

Eternity giggled a little, “Yes, so it has. Do not worry, I’ll fix it later.”

Her voice was lulled and lazy sounding. Elijah found himself completely charmed by it. He had never felt more in love with her, as he did at the moment. He felt a lightness in him that he hadn’t felt in a very long time - ten years to be exact. It was like being brought back to life for him after a long period of utter darkness.

“I love you so much, my darling Eternity,” he found himself saying.

“I love you too,” she replied sleepily.

Just as the moment had felt right to make love to Eternity again, this tender moment felt right to Elijah to make a proposal he had swirling about his head ever since they had started reestablishing their relationship during these last few months. Of course it hadn’t been right at first. No, but now it did.

He continued to run his fingers lazily through her hair as he thought about what he wanted to say to her. He wasn’t afraid or nervous. He instinctually knew she would be receptive. Still, it was something that they had never spoken about before, not in depth anyway. He did recall when the Mitchells had brought it up long ago, but they hadn’t been ready for such a commitment then and Elijah wasn’t sure if he’d ever be, at that point.

Now, however, he understood that he wanted that commitment, after having to spend a decade without his lady. He wanted to be her husband and she to be his wife, more than anything. He wanted to be bound to her, so that they may never part again.

“Marry me, Eternity,” he blurted softly.

Immediately she was sitting up and looking at him, the lazy contentment gone. Eternity looked at him in surprise, having not expected such a proposal from him and so suddenly in their reunion. She didn’t speak for a while, only stared in contemplation at him.

For a brief second, Elijah thought he had miscalculated, that maybe he had been wrong about her reception of his marriage proposal. He began to feel like a fool just when she practically threw herself at him with a shouted, “Yes!”

Instantaneous was her mouth on his, kissing him passionately with her taking advantage of his surprise as her tongue quickly invading his mouth. He groaned needfully, while his heart swelled with elation. He was over the moon that Eternity accepted his impromptu proposal.

Elijah gasped into her mouth when she sat up a bit and began to rub herself intimately against his growing hardness beneath her. Then one of her little hands trailed downward from his chest to his hard length, where she wrapped her hand around him and pumped him until he was thrusting upward wantonly.

Parting from his lips, Eternity sat up even more with a wicked smirk upon her pink ones. Then she adjusted her position on him, straddling his hips and swiftly proceeded to take him into her body. She sank down on him until he was buried to the hilt; the blanket that had covers them fallen to around her hips, allowing him a view of her breasts - and for him to watch her take him in and out of her wet warmth as well.

Her hands braced against his abdomen as she moved over him. Her nails dig into his flesh as the pleasure of being filled by him took over her. It was a delicious sort of pain and Elijah welcomed it.

He didn’t remain idle either. His hands moved to caress her body; one hand cupping and kneading her breast, while the other curled firmly around her throat. His hips began to thrust upward as she came down, creating the best rhythm as they drive each other higher toward their peaks.

So lost in each other were they that neither noticed someone had suddenly entered the study, until they heard Kol shout in disgust, “Oh, bloody hell! Elijah!”

Immediately, Elijah sat up with his arms around Eternity protectively to shield her from his brother’s view. He stared at his brother in shock, while Kol stared back in a mix of awe and disgust. Elijah’s lady didn’t seem very concerned though. The whole while, she didn’t break her rhythm, despite Kol’s presence and Elijah’s tight guarding grip around her body.

It made it hard to focus with her moving over him, taking Elijah in and out of her body steadily. Eternity leaned her forehead on the side of his head with her gaze casually upon his little brother. She wound her arms around his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair as she did. Elijah shut his eyes briefly, trying to find a bit of sanity to deal with his intrusive brother, whom stared in fixation at the scene that unfolded before him.

“Get the hell out!” Elijah finally managed to growl loudly at the younger Mikaelson, his voice gruff with his restraint of his desire and the displeasure of Kol’s inappropriate gawking.

Without needing further prompt, Kol remembered himself and swiftly vanished from the room.

As soon as his brother was gone, he turned his attention back on his lady, whom continued to ride him without pause. She grinned mischievously at him, her sapphire eyes twinkling with humor. He growled in displeasure at her, but his breath was stolen when she came down on his particularly hard. His growl turned into a needful groan, his eyes screwing shut against the pleasure.

Then she giggled outright at him, wriggling upon him playfully, and his eyes flew open. Instantaneously, he had their positions switched with her pinned beneath him on the couch. His had her hand pulled above her head, her wrists gripped in one hand. His other arm reached downto curl around her backside, lifting her a bit for a better angle. Then he began to move, his thrust hard and meaningful.

Eternity gasped and arched into him, her eyes fluttering closed. She broke free of his hold on her without resistance from him and her hands automatically reached to touch him. One of them splayed on his chest and the other went further up to tangle in his hair. She moved with him, her hips pushing upwards to meet him thrust for thrust. They found their perfect rhythm, moving together in sync with each other as they drove higher in joint pleasure.

Elijah bent down to capture her lips with his, his free hand cupping her neck as he did. His tongue slipped into her open mouth to taste her there, while moving through the wet cavern in the same rhythm as his hips. She moaned loudly into his mouth when he did that, and Elijah began to feel her walls fluttering around his cock, signally her end was near.

“Come for me, Sweetheart,” he encouraged against her lips, in between kisses. “Come for me.”

That was all the encouragement she needed. Almost right away, Eternity’s walls clenched down on him as her orgasm took hold of her.She arched into him and froze with a silent scream that quickly turned into an incredibly loud one.

Elijah swiftly followed her into orgasmic bliss, coming unimaginably hard and emptying into her waiting body completely. He practically roared as he did, staring down into Eternity’s euphoric face all the while. Then his strength gave out and he bent over her, burying his face into her neck as he came down from his high. Her hand ran through his hair lazily, while the other caressed along his back, sending shivers down his spine as he rested.

After a time, he managed to lift himself from her and he couldn’t help but to smile adoringly. She had said yes to marrying him and nothing made him happier in that moment. He reached down to kiss her lips tenderly, just in sheer joy - a joy he hadn’t thought he’d ever feel in his life.

Elijah had thought darkness and death were to be his life without light, because for most of his life that was exactly how it was; cold and cruel with flashes of light in between, but nothing lasting. Yet, meeting Eternity had turned everything on it’s head. It had showed him that there was a chance for sustaining light in his life, which was why he had been so broken to lose Eternity. But now? Now, she was going to be his...forever.

“We need get up, my love,” Eternity said to him lazily.

Elijah remembered Kol’s interruption then. Now that his mind wasn’t in a sexual haze, he knew that whatever he had come into the study for must have been urgent. Yes, perhaps getting up was for the best. Though if he were honest, he was very reluctant to leave Eternity’s warmth.

“We should go see what Kol needed,” he replied with a disappointed sigh.

Eternity grinned mischievously, “Aye, but perhaps a shower first?”

He returned her grin with one of his own, “Oh, most definitely.”

With that, the pair were up and racing down the hall to Elijah’s bedroom, where the shower was.

The second they were in the luxurious bathroom, Elijah had Eternity pinned to the door with her legs wrapped around his waist. He kissed her breathlessly for a few minutes, before releasing her from his grasp completely, much to her disappointment.

He went over to the large sized walk-in shower and turned the water on, before returning to his lady’s side. His mouth gravitated to hers automatically and his hands trailed her body much in the same way. He simply had to touch her in his addiction.

Eternity’s hands weren’t idle either. Her hands raked through his hair, holding him close as they kissed, her body pressing into him tightly.

A few minutes later and the shower was steaming. Elijah parted from his lady’s lips and proceeded to lift her into his arms again. He carried her into the shower and immediately had her pressed into the wall opposite of the spray. Her legs were wrapped securely around his hips and her hands curled into his hair once more.

“I love you, Sweetheart,” he told her again, unable to help himself.

Eternity smiled warmly in return and kissed him sweetly.

Despite all the lovemaking they had already achieved, Elijah craved more. He was truly insatiable when it came to the woman he had pinned to the shower wall. He felt like a starved man in need of sustenance where she was concerned. 

Without warning, he buried himself inside her all over again, closing his eyes against the intense feeling of her walls around him, despite having just felt them moments before. Elijah swore would never get tired of the sensation. It was magnificent.

Eternity gasped at the suddenness of his intrusion and clung to him tightly, as he moved quickly inside her. He took her hard and fast this time without pause. She moaned loudly and clamped her mouth onto his shoulder to muffle the sound, as they climbed together rapidly.

It wasn’t long before her walls clutched down upon his cock and crying out mutely as she came. Not too soon after that, Elijah was groaning his release into her, thrusting a few more times before ceasing with an exhausted kiss to her neck.

He released her from his grasp, setting her down gently onto her feet. He smiled at her and she returned it, before he guided her over to the water spray and proceeded to wash her form himself. Elijah enjoyed the way she hummed appreciatively as he lathered her with soap, as he let his hands run all over her body. He was attentive to the task of washing her and once he was satisfied, he allowed Eternity to return the favor and wash him as well.

Her touch was everything.

Then after shutting the water off, he escorted his lady out of the shower and helped her dry off, before doing the same for himself. Eternity used magic to dress them from there. Elijah was quickly back in his typical dark three piece suit and she was dressed in a light pink sundress - typical for her.

Once they were ready, they headed out to join the living, as they say. However, as they were heading out of the bedroom, Elijah pulled her back into the room for one last kiss, which made her smile and giggle girlishly at him. After that, together, they headed out to find Kol. Little did they know what awaited them when they did.

**To Be Continued....**


	14. The Demon Possession

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

************

The newly engaged pair headed down into the courtyard where they heard the voices of Kol, Rebekah, and Freya. The three of them were surrounding one of the outdoor couches and there was a young woman sitting before them, speaking in a language that they didn’t know. Elijah’s siblings were arguing over what language the woman could be speaking, as he and Eternity came to join them.

“Ah, finally through shagging long enough to help out, eh?” Kol said crossly, upon noticing the new arrivals. “Well, it’s about bloody time,” the younger Original shouted. Then he leaned over closer to his big brother and his brother’s lady to whisper lecherously, “Good show though. Quick the riveting performance.” He winked at them, earning a smirk from Eternity and a deep, murderous scowl from Elijah.

Kol immediately straightened at the sight of the latter’s reaction and had enough sense to look down sheepishly in response to it.

“We’ve been trying to figure out what this young woman is saying,” Rebekah explained as she turned to Elijah, after having effectively ignored Kol completely. “She stumbled into the compound deliriously, shouting bloody murder in a language we can’t recognize. We thought it might be a dialect of Spanish or perhaps Italian, but when we tried to speak in those languages to her, she just stared at us strangely before carrying on as if we hadn’t even bothered.”

Eternity stepped up to get a closer look and gazed at the strange woman contemplatively. It wasn’t long before she became alert and taunt. “Everyone get back!” She shouted quickly, in that authoritative way of hers.

The moment she said that, the stranger began to twist and snarl as if she were possessed. Then her eyes fell upon Eternity, whom had pulled Elijah,Kol, Freya, and Rebekah all behind her protectively. Before their very eyes, the woman turned into a gross, grotesque creature. Having had experience with these types of things, Elijah recognized that the woman had transformed into a demon right away.

“What the bloody hell is that thing?” Rebekah shouted in alarm, as she backed away with the rest of her siblings.

“It’s a possession demon,” Eternity replied calmly. “A parasite that attaches itself to it’s host, in order to hide in plain sight, while feeding on the host’s life force.”

“Fascinating,” Kol chimes in. “How do you kill it?”

The immortal queen turned to look back at him, “You don’t, not unless you wish to kill the innocent host too. No, an exorcism is required here. Just keep back and let me handle this.”

“Be careful, Sweetheart,” Elijah called to her, just as Eternity took steps toward the possessed woman.

The queen nodded back at him, before zeroing in on the enemy before her. She moved cautiously toward the fiend, as it snarled and hissed at her in response. It could instinctually sense the threat, knowing that Eternity meant to harm it.

“If you try to kill me,” the creature hissed in a voice blended of the host’s and that of the demon itself, “I will simply jump into a new host. Perhaps one of your supernatural friends, of whom you protect? What power I would have, if I take control of one of their bodies. Excuse me, while I drool over the very idea.”

“You were sent by your master Bruno,” replied Eternity in an almost bored tone, “as a threat to those I care for in a temper tantrum because I outmaneuvered him, keeping the child out of his reach. Rather pathetic really. Besides, do you, demon, actually think that I haven’t dealt with one of your kind before? That I don’t know how to dispose of you before you can jump bodies?”

The creature grinned toothily, “Well, what if I take control of you, queenie? How would you deal with me then?”

Eternity scoffed, “You are not at all intelligent at all, are you? If you were to invade me, you’d be torn apart, if not by my sheer power, then by the demon that already occupies this vessel. No, to possess me wouldn’t be a good idea at all.”

The creature’s grin faded into a snarling hiss again.

“Perhaps, it is best that you simply...disappear,” she told it.

As if those words were a cue, the demon attacked Eternity, grabbing hold of her and throwing her across the courtyard against the wall. It wasn’t by miscalculation that this happened. The immortal queen allowed rage demon to throw her, Elijah realized as he watched the fight unfold. It had been strategy, he knew, because the direction in which the demon threw her was away from him and his family.

Smart, he thought proudly.

The throw had been quick hard. It had caused a large cloud of dust and debris from the impact against the stone walls of the compound. For a moment, Elijah couldn’t make out anything. There was nothing but the heavy cloud.

With anticipation, he waited and waited and waited some more to see Eternity come back.

Then finally she came through. At first, she was just a shadowy figure, but quickly did she materialize out of the dust cloud. Eternity was no longer in her dress, but her warrior’s garb of corsets and leather leggings. She remained weaponless however, as she wasn’t trying to slay the beast. She was also dirty from the dust, but it seemed that she otherwise remained unmarred.

Elijah’s lady moved with speed that was nearly impossible to follow, as she engaged the demon in a round of hand to hand combat. She moved with precision, while the demon was more wild and animalistic in it’s movements. There wasn’t as much focus in the beast, which Eternity used to her advantage, swiftly knocking the demon onto it’s back with her booted heel in it’s throat in a short sequence of moves.

As the creature struggled beneath her, the queen leaned over and growled, “Be gone, demon.”

Instantaneously, the demon was extracted from the human woman in a cloud of green gas. It floated there above it’s former host’s form, as of it stubbornly refused to leave. Then without another word from Eternity, the gas suddenly combusted in a small, controlled explosion. The immortal queen quickly removed her foot from the unconscious young woman’s throat and healed any wounds that had been inflicted in the confrontation before the girl could waken.

The vessel had been returned to her normal human self, as if she had never been possessed in the first place. It only took a few moments for the girl to regain consciousness, dazed and confused as she sat up and looked around her fearfully.

Eternity, in a rather motherly way, interacted with the frightened woman, telling her that she had fainted on the streets, but the nice people around her had helped keep her safe until she awoke. The girl wasn’t sure if she bought the words of the kind immortal, but she did relax a bit, giving thanks in Spanish to them, if a bit hesitant to do so.

Elijah couldn’t blame the young woman. He wasn’t sure if ‘nice’ would be the word he would use when describing his family, especially where humans were concerned, but he supposed it was for the best to do so, in this case. Frightening the already frightened wasn’t exactly good manners, at least not in his opinion. Kol might feel differently on the matter, which was why it was good that it wasn’t up to him to deal with the little human whom had stumbled into their compound.

After sending the frantic human on her way, Eternity rejoined Elijah’s side, taking hold of his hand as she did. There was a tension in her hold that had him worried immediately. He turned to look at her profile, noticing the worry there upon her delicate and somewhat dirty face.

“What is it, Sweetheart?” He asked her.

“I cannot stay here,” she replied quietly. “It’s too dangerous. Bruno is angry with me over ensuring young Hope was out of his reach. This attack of his, I fear it is only the beginning of his retaliation. I cannot stay and let your family potentially pay the price. He sent a possession demon to turn one of them against me so that I might have to kill them.”

Elijah felt his heart drop into his stomach with dread at her somewhat frantic words. “You’re not leaving me again, are you? Not after you just -.”

“I’m not leaving you,” smiled Eternity reassuringly. “Never, ever again, will I be doing that. No, but we can’t stay here. I suggest a new location. Perhaps one near your family, but distant enough not to put them in harm’s way, at least for a time? It won’t necessarily keep us safe from Bruno’s antics, but it’ll be better for everyone else. We do still have other business as well to tend to.” She looked pointedly at him, and her knew that meant she was talking about Céleste’s ghost.

He felt relieved that she wasn’t going to disappear on him. He also felt a little foolish for thinking she might, especially after their incredible night and morning together. She did just agree to become his wife, after all. It was a pretty good indication that she wasn’t going anywhere.

“I have a place across the river that we can go to,” he told her.

“Ah yes, the loft where you went to sulk when Hayley chose Nik over you,” Kol chimed in with a mischievous grin, having listened to their little conversation, along with their sisters. The younger Mikaelson laughed a little and turned to Eternity, “You should have seen it. He was the biggest pouting ba-.”

“And that’s enough out of you,” Rebekah moved to intervene, simply by putting her hands on Kol’s arms from behind to get him to stop talking. “I really do not want to have to clean up the mess our brother would make with your insides, should you decide to keep talking, Kol.”

Kol looked at her and then at Elijah, who was unamused by his little brother’s amusement. He looked at them both with confusion, as if he didn’t understand. “But I was just -.”

Rebekah interjected again, “You were doing nothing, but going somewhere else. Anywhere else.”

Eternity grinned and giggled slightly in an amusement of her own at the scene.

Kol went to protest, but Rebekah was having none of it. She showed him away and they all watched as their brother obeyed disappointedly, going to stand by Freya to sulk.

“So, you two are going across the river,” Rebekah said to both Elijah and Eternity.

“Aye, it’s the only way to keep you lot safe from forces you cannot contend with,” nodded Eternity. “That incident just now could have gone sideways very fast, had I not been here to intervene. What comes next will only be much worse, I fear, but the target is not any of you. It’s me he seeks to reign his anger down upon. Therefore, wherever I go, the danger will follow.”

“And wherever she goes, I follow,” Elijah interjected, smiling at his lady.

Rebekah looked between them with happiness, “Well then, I suggest you two get a move on. If it’s as bad as you say, you shouldn’t dawdle.”

“There is one thing I wish to tell you all before we go across river,” he said, just as Freya and Kol came closer to here what he had to say. With a deep breath and a quick flash of a smile at his lady, Elijah told his present family, “I have asked Eternity to marry me and she has accepted.”

Elijah looked down at Eternity happily, while she beamed up at him in return.

The rest of the Mikaelson siblings looked at each other with surprise, having not expected him to make such an announcement, especially so soon after parting ways with Gia. It probably seemed sudden to them, and maybe it was. However, to Elijah, it had been anything but sudden. He had pinned for Eternity for ten years, he wasn’t about to let her go again and marriage was one way he could ensure that she’d stay with him this time. Still, he could understand their surprise about the situation. They hadn’t been the ones pinning for ten years.

“Well, congratulations to you both,” Kol stepped in with a grin. “Does this mean that you’re going to be a king, Elijah? Better yet, does that mean that we’re going to be considered royalty of the highest order? Is this marriage going to turn me into a prince? Am I going to have a castle and servants and a court of my own?”

Eternity laughed and shook her head at Elijah’s little brother, “Well, the Universal Kingdom is rather matriarchal. We haven’t ever had a king, only a queen. So, no, Elijah won’t be a king, but he will have great influence over others as my spouse. As to your other point, you lot will certainly move up in status, though not as princes and princesses. More like lords and ladies. Again, your influence will be great, so long as you don’t abuse it, of course.” She looked pointedly at Kol in warning.

The younger Mikaelson threw his hands up in surrender, “Hey, I promise to be on my best behavior.”

“Aye, you will, because if not? You’ll deal with me and you don’t want that, my friend. Trust me,” Eternity responded.

Elijah’s brother swallowed thickly in nervousness, “Message received. Do not piss off the queen.”

Eternity shrugged and smirked, “That is the first rule when dealing with me.”

Kol grinned at her and chuckled a bit, relaxing. “Well, isn’t that the truth for all of us here. You’re going to fit in just nicely, I think. So, welcome to the family, love.”

“Thank you, Kol,” she replied with a genuine smile.

“Yes, welcome and congratulations to you both,” Freya echoed those sentiments.

“Bloody time, I’d say,” Rebekah added happily.

It was after the circulatory congratulations from his siblings, and more annoying questions from Kol about his raised status-to-be, that Elijah pulled Eternity away from them. It was time to get going, he had decided. They had to repair the study before they left. He didn’t want to leave the mess for his siblings to deal with, especially knowing what has caused such disarray. After all, Eternity had said she’d repair the room, after their adventures the night prior.

They went to the upper level of the compound and returned to the study, observing the mess there together with admiration. They both reminisced pleasantly about all that had transpired there, grinning filthily at each other as they took in the sight. Each broken or overturned piece of furniture held a special memory, the same was true of the scattered books, the claw marks in the hardwoods, and the broken curtains.

Yes, it had been a great night indeed. Alas, it was time to put it all back together, as if their escapades hadn’t happened at all.

Elijah allowed his lady to use her magic to right everything broken or out of place in the room. It was an easy fix. She did this with a simple wave of her hand; nothing more, nothing less. Everything in the study was back where it should be with swiftness, without any evidence left of their wild intimacy the night before.

He was rather disappointed by the fix, more than he thought he would be. He had been rather proud of the wreckage and how it had happened, feeling as if precious memories had been wiped away. However, he knew well enough that they could do it all over again across the river, if they so chose, a most likely endeavor to be sure.

Once the room was back in order, Elijah lead his lady away. It was time for them to leave the Mikaelson compound, something he hadn’t expected they would be doing this morning when they had gotten up. Yet, desperate times called for desperate measures sometimes and this move was for the best, if his siblings would be made all the more safer with their absence.

It was only for a time, he reminded himself, and it wasn’t as if they were leaving the city.

After they had said their goodbyes to the other Mikaelsons one last time, Elijah and Eternity left the family home. Elijah helped his lady get into his Bentley that he had stored away, and from there, they headed across river where they could keep watch out for trouble without the distraction of having to keep the others safe as well.

**To Be Continued....**


	15. The Ghostly Encounter

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

************

The loft across the river was a rustic place, but in a charming sort of way. The entire thing was made up of red brick with wood beams to support the unfinished ceiling. On the outer wall with the windows, there was an aluminum tube air duct that ran the length of it. The place was low lit as the windows didn’t provide much light against the dark interior. Of course there were lamps to compensate for that, but it did create a rather depressing mood that Elijah hadn’t noticed the last time he had been to the loft.

That might have been because he had been depressed the last time he had been there. Though he didn’t dare dwell on his embarrassing sulking over Hayley’s choosing Niklaus over him. He hadn’t been in a good place before the hybrid female had made that choice and the choice itself have only made his dark state all the worse.

Anyway, the hardwoods were at least still polished nicely and all the old furniture remained as he had left it years ago. However, the place did have a sheet to dust all over everything since it hadn’t been in use for all that time.

Perhaps bringing Eternity here wasn’t the best idea, Elijah thought as he took in the old loft.

“Elijah, this place is fine,” the immortal queen replied to his thoughts, putting her hand on his arm gently. “It simply needs a woman’s touch - a magical woman’s touch, to be exact.”

While looking at him slyly, she snapped her fingers and the dim, dusty loft was instantly transformed into a light and warm living space. The brick had been painted white and the windows had been made bigger to let more light into the loft. It made it seemed roomier, not as drab.

The furnishings had received an upgrade as well. Everything was new and modern, including the small kitchen space. The appliances had been updated to the latest stainless steel and the countertops were of the finest black granite magic could conjure. The once worn and dark cabinets had been made a bright white, adding to the lightness of the previously dark loft.

Yes, the dust old place had been made new and high class, just the way Elijah preferred his dwellings.

“You know me so well, Sweetheart,” he smirked at Eternity, impressed with the magical remodel.

She grinned in return, just before a serious and contemplative look took hold. She moved further into the main room of the loft, her hair rippling behind her as she went in that otherworldly way Elijah typically didn’t notice anymore. He only did see it because she looked absolutely divine, in the truest sense of the word against the newly lit up apartment. Her hair even reflected in the light, flashing with light now and again, another feature he usually no longer paid any mind to. It was fascinating how he could ignore such otherworldliness most times, but every so often those features made themselves known to him.

But Elijah pushed that out of his mind as her sudden seriousness took precedence in his mind. He followed her path closely until they stood on the area rug where two modern grey couches sat across from each other.

“What troubles you?” He asked, his eyes narrowing as he observed her lack of bodily cues that meant she was upset. He didn’t see any. If she wasn’t upset about something, then what was it on her mind that had her looking so concentrated?

“Nothing troubles me,” Eternity replied, turning to smile warmly at him. “There are things on my mind, however. There are things that we need to discuss and now that we don’t have the prying ears of Mikaelson siblings to contend with, perhaps this present moment would be a good time to talk.”

Elijah nodded readily, “Of course.”

He gestured to the couch in a silent invite for her to sit. She did, perching delicately on the edge with her hands folded neatly in her lap. After unbuttoning his suit jacket, he joined her, sitting right next to her. He mirrored her position, sitting on the edge at an angle to see her better.

All the while, Elijah wondered what it was that she wanted to speak to him about.

“So, what is it that you wish to discuss with me?” He asked, once they were settled. He took her hand in his, covering it with his opposite one as he waited attentively.

“I have actually had this on my mind since before you even asked me to marry you,” she began. “I knew all along that, if we were to reunite, it was likely we wouldn’t wish to part again ever. The reason why the Underground Agency exists is because of that fact. Yes, getting the Earth to a place where it’s people can fend for themselves, where they can stand toe to toe with the rest of the Universal Kingdom is something that I’ve always wanted for this world, but it hasn’t been the driving for me to finally put these plans into motion. I have been working hard getting this world ready for another reason.”

Elijah looked at her curiously, “And what is that exactly?”

“To break down the barrier between the immortals and the mortals; to make the two universes one again,” she answered. “To make the Earth the center of my kingdom, my home, so that you and I do not have to separate ever again.”

This was a big revelation, one that he hadn’t thought about when he had asked her to marry him or even before that, or at least, not very much anyway. Her palace was among the stars, out of reach of him. If they were to spend the rest of forever together, then a revolution of sorts was in order. Changes had to be made. He found himself humbled in the realization that Eternity was willing to make those changes for him, out of love.

“Alright, so what does this mean for myself, my family, and the entire supernatural community?” Elijah asked next, as he lifted her hand to his lips and laid a kiss upon her knuckles in affection.

“You are all going to need to be stronger, of greater skill, more powerful,” Eternity told him, as if it were obvious. “If you and yours are to earn the respect of the ancient immortals, then you all are going to need to be upgraded, for lack of a better term. You will need to be on their level.”

Elijah narrowed his eyes at her, “How are you going to achieve that?”

She shrugged nonchalantly, “A dab of magic and a whole lot of rigorous training. You’ll still be limited somewhat, but you all should be able at least contend with low level demons and the like. It will be enough to make the ancients see the new age supernaturals as equals.”

“How are you going to get hundreds of thousands of supernaturals to train? Furthermore, who’s going to train them? You?” He inquired.

“The agents of the Underground Agency will train the supernatural community on the whole,” she answered. “However, I will be responsible for you. Your family will also be trained by agents from the agency, minus Niklaus, Hayley, and Hope, all of whom are already being trained as we speak by an old...friend of mine.”

The way Eternity paused when saying ‘friend’ made Elijah suspicious, though not in a ‘my family is in danger’ sort of suspicious. No, however, there was a secret there in this old friend, one that she seemed reluctant to divulge any information about him or her. An old lover, perhaps? It seemed likely. She did have several in her four hundred years running from Loki. Maybe this person was one of them that managed to escape death by the Trickster’s hand.

“This friend was more than a friend, yes?” Elijah asked curiously with a small knowing smile at the way she shied away slightly.

“At one point,” she replied. “It wasn’t long before I met you, actually. Of course, things had ended amicably prior to our fateful first encounter. I had sworn to never love again, not while Loki was at large, but meeting you that night set my course and I couldn’t help but to follow it.”

Eternity smiled at him lovingly and he returned it with one of his own.

“So, when will this training begin?” Elijah inquired next, deciding to move on from the subject of old lovers.

She leaned closer to him then, putting her hand on his chest and kissing his lips sweetly, before she pulled back enough to look him in the eyes to say, “Soon, but not right now. Right now, I simply want things to be about you and me, revolution be damned.”

Immediately his mouth was on hers with his hand cupped the side of her neck as he did. His tongue pried hers open and swiftly began to dance within the warm cavern, tasting her thoroughly. She moaned lightly and shifted closer, putting her other hand on his thigh as she leaned into him further.

It would have been divine to take her all over again for what seemed like the millionth time. He wanted to. His body called for him to do so, as did hers it would seem. Alas, he could not, for he had something else he had to attend to, something he deemed more important at the moment.

Therefore, with great reluctance, Elijah pulled his mouth from hers, while licking his lower lip where he could taste her still. “There is something that I must see to in town,” he told Eternity huskily.

His eyes surely burned with his desire to push her back onto the couch or better yet, pull her into his lap, and have his wicked way with her. Hers certainly did. Those sapphire depths of hers were dark with a lustiness all her own. If he were a weaker man, less controlled over himself, he would have done what his instincts called him to do and have her as he pleased. However, since he was not those things, he managed to find the strength to resist the temptation.

“What is this great important thing exactly?” Eternity asked him seductively, as she played with the red tie he wore.

Elijah grinned at her, “Oh, it’s a surprise, my darling Eternity.”

He pulled away from her wandering hands as they moved along his chest and as they then reached up to running her fingertips along the stubble of his jaw tenderly. He rose from the couch quickly and moved toward the front door. “I shall return to you, my lady,” he called back as he went.

Eternity sputtered at how fast Elijah was gone, but he only grinned impishly as he headed down the stairs and to his waiting car. They had driven over to the lost from the compound since his lady wasn’t sure how he would handle instant magical transportation since he had never done it before. He supposed, if he was to contend with the ancient immortals as Eternity said he would, then perhaps he should make the attempt to travel that way.

For now, he got into the car and drove back around to the French Quarter, to a very specific place he knew of. He parked in front of a fine jewelry store, before heading inside the small and modest establishment. He browsed the selection of shining jewels and gems on his own for a few minutes, before a young sales woman came over with a bright smile.

“Can I help you, sir?” The lovely redhead asked him politely.

Elijah smiled in return and nodded, “Yes, I believe you can. I am looking for an engagement ring for my fiancée?”

The young lady frowned slightly, “Did she lose the original one or something?”

He grinned sheepishly and answered with a slight chuckle, “No, I may have done things a little out of order and proposed before getting a ring.”

“Ah, I see,” the sales woman replied understandingly. “Well, if you’ll please just come over here, sir, I believe we can find something for the lucky lady.”

“Oh, it is I that is the lucky one, let me assure you,” said Elijah with emphasis, as he followed the woman around to the line of glass cases on the left side of the shop. “I didn’t get your name, Miss?”

The kind young lady extended her hand out to him as she introduced herself, “I’m Victoria, Victoria Marcus, but everyone calls me Vic or Vicki.”

He took her hand in his and clasped it firmly with a charming smile, “A pleasure to meet you, Vicki. I’m Elijah Mikaelson.”

The redhead froze for a moment upon hearing his name, a look of wariness crossed her youthful features. She had heard of him before, Elijah realized, not all that surprised by that. The Originals were notorious throughout the world, but especially in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Even some humans had heard of his family. He assumed this young lady was one of those humans.

“You have heard of me,” Elijah observed knowingly.

The woman curled her hair behind her ear and looked down nervously, “Yes, I’m completely human, but I have witch friends whom have spoken about the infamous Mikaelson family. You’re not here to kill me or anything, right? I mean, I’ve heard things, not so good things.”

Immediately he reassured her, “No, I’m really only here for an engagement ring. It’s not a front and you have nothing to fear from me. I give you my word on that, Vicki.”

She looked up timidly and considered him, before relaxing somewhat when she saw he was being genuine. “Alright,” she murmured, before clearing her throat and awkwardly laughing just before she spoke more confidently, “Well, Mr. Mikealson, over here we have some fine choices of rings.”

Elijah looked into the glass case she was gesturing to and right away did he see the perfect ring for his lady. It shone brighter than the rest, like a beacon calling to him, telling him that it was the right one.

It was a vintage ring, dated some time at the beginning of the 20th century, with intricate designs in the white gold of the band. There was a sizable diamond centered upon it with two smaller sapphires flanking the clear gem. The sapphires reminded Elijah of Eternity’s eyes and that was what made it so perfect to give to her.

“That one there, please,” he pointed to the ring.

“Good choice,” the sales woman replied as she took the elastic key ring from around her wrist and unlocked the case to retrieve the item he had picked out.

Just as she was doing so, Elijah felt someone of sinister intent shift up beside him. He immediately looked over and saw Céleste standing there! “That is a lovely ring,” she said with a twisted smile, her French accent thick as always. “You’re lady will absolutely be over the moon at the very sight of it, without a doubt, no?”

“What do you want, Céleste?” He growled, on guard in the face of a threat.

The seemingly resurrected witch shrugged coyly at him as she answered, “I come with a warning for you and your lady, my sweet Elijah. Neither of you will know happiness, only misery and heartache. A terrible storm comes for you both, one that will surely wreck your sweet love.”

“Warning? That sounds more like a threat.”

“Oh, it is. I simply did not wish to call it that.”

Elijah turned to the vengeful witch completely, temporarily forgetting the ring and the sales woman. “Why are you doing this? How are you even here?” He quietly demanded.

Céleste lost all amusement then. A hateful look replaced it as she took a step closer and replied, “Why? You have to ask why? Your brother murdered me and you still remained by his side, then you sided with your wicked family once more centuries later and killed me all over again, when I only wanted to show you the errors of your ways. I’m doing this because you don’t deserve happiness. You certainly don’t deserve a happily ever after with one such as the Universal Queen. You deserve nothing, but misery and darkness!

“As to your second question, well I will not speak to that as of yet,” a cruel and mysterious smirk pulled at her lips then, the anger in her subsiding. “The game has only begun and it would not do to spoil things before their time. However, I will say this: the past is coming to seek revenge for the crimes unanswered. I am not the only one. There are others. You will see them soon enough, my darling.”

Elijah was furious, to say the least. He did not take kindly to threats unto him or his loved ones. He wanted to lash out, but his impeccable control kept the baser instinct in check. He was more intelligent than that to strike against an enemy he didn’t know enough about yet. Yes, it was Céleste, but she was different, a new incarnation so to speak. He couldn’t strike until he understood more about her mysterious reappearance.

Instead of attacking, he smiled humorlessly at his former flame and replied, “There is nothing, nothing, that you or anyone else can do to destroy what lays between Eternity and I, but you all are welcome to try. It will only end in your death again by my hand. I promise you that.”

Céleste seemed unperturbed by his counter-threat. She had the audacity to shrug it off with a scoff as she turned away, heading toward the exit. “We shall see about that, my love,” she called back. “We shall see.”

With that, she left, vanishing through the door like the ghost that she might have been. Elijah wasn’t quite sure what she was, whether she was real or some kind of spirit. Yet, it really didn’t not matter. She was a threat, an enemy, one that he had to deal with and soon before things grew out of control.

“Uh, Mr. Mikaelson?” Vicki said, catching his attention.

Elijah immediately turned to her, remembering what he had been doing before the encounter with Céleste. The young woman looked absolutely terrified by what she had just witnessed. He smiled gently and continued to conduct business with her after a quick apology about the disruption. He played what had happened off as nothing, which young Vicki seemed alright with him doing. It seemed she didn’t want to talk about it. Perhaps because it would make the ghostly experience real to her if they did.

Soon Elijah had the ring in hand packaged in a small red velvet box, after he had paid a considerable amount of money to the sales woman, and was heading back across the river to his awaiting lady. The whole while, his thoughts were plagued by the visitation from Céleste, making his hands grip the steering wheel of his Bentley tighter than was necessary in his frustration and anger.

The happy moment had been completely hijacked by the sinister threat upon him and his lady. It was unforgivable and Elijah swore that whatever was going on would be dealt with swiftly in the harshest, cruelest way his dark mind could conjure.

**To Be Continued....**


	16. The Warning Shot

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

************

Elijah returned to the loft with the little red velvet box in his pants pocket. He was agitated by the encounter with Céleste, but he refused to let the resurrected witch ruin the planned romantic moment of him giving Eternity the engagement ring and proposing to her properly. No, instead he tried to push the vengeful ex out of his mind as he bound up the stairs from the car, allowing the excitement of what was to come once he was inside overtake the negative headspace he had found himself in after the jewelry shop ordeal.

Once he was through the front door, he found Eternity sitting on the couch. He had only been gone about a quarter of an hour, but the way her face lit up at the sight of him or the way she leapt up from her seat to meet him halfway, one would think he had been gone much longer. Elijah’s darker mood had been nearly obliterated by the adorableness of his lady’s reaction to his return. There was nothing but light and love in him, as he lifted Eternity into his arms and spun her around a couple of times before setting her back down on her feet.

She giggled girlishly at him and then reached up on her toes to kiss his lips sweetly. “So, where did you get off to exactly, Mr. Mikaelson?” She asked as she pulled away.

Elijah smiled charmingly at her and answered, “I had to go into town to retrieve this.”

He pulled the little red velvet box from his pants pocket and showed it to her unopened. Then seeing her curiously look at it, he fluidly bent down on one knee before her and finally opened the box to present the diamond and sapphire engagement ring. She beamed at him in response, but said nothing as of yet, choosing to let him say what he needed to unhindered.

“My lovely Eternity, I didn’t do this in a proper way, in one worthy of someone of your caliper,” he told her, “but here and now, in a formal fashion, I ask you with all my heart, if you will do me the honor and become my wife. Will you marry me?”

Eternity smiled endlessly. “Well, my love, you already know my answer,” she teased him good- naturedly. “However, since this is a formal proposal, let me answer in a formal way: Yes, Elijah Mikaelson, I will marry you.”

He grinned happily and placed the piece of jewelry upon the ring finger of her left hand as tradition dictated. Once it was upon her person, Elijah on his feet sweeping her off her feet and into his arms bridal style. She laughed heartily at his antics, before kissing him passionately. Her tongue swept past his lips and tasted him throughly in a devouring fashion that left him weak kneed.

It certainly stirred up his endless desire for her, making his heart beat a little quicker and his cock twitch to life. “Hmm, I want to bed you so badly all over again,” he rumbled to her, after pulling his lips away.

Eternity simpered as she played with the short hair at the back of his head, “Then why deny yourself, my love?”

He smirked with slight chuckle, before his mouth reattached to hers with a passion all his own. His tongue dove into her mouth hungrily, craving the taste of her. He was about to move toward the bed and take her as he so desired.

However, just as Elijah was taking those steps toward the soft surface, a loud stomach rumble echoed through the otherwise quiet loft. The sounds of hunger coming from Eternity gave him pause. He once again pulled his mouth from hers, to which she groaned in disappointment and chased after his lips, trying to recapture them.

He evaded the snare by swiftly putting her down onto her feet and gazed at her knowingly, “Perhaps we should return to this later. I believe my lady needs to eat something. You haven’t eaten since yesterday, if I recall.”

“Aye, while you were dragging me all over the place,” she looked at him pointedly and then laughed lightly, as she flashed a playful grin, “we did eat at that charming little cafe.”

Elijah smirked, “As I understand it, you enjoyed our sight seeing trip around the French Quarter of New Orleans.”

Eternity only grinned more, “Aye, I did. You did still drag me around town.”

It was then that he recalled the encounter at the jewelry store. Their adventure in town the other day having been the reminder of Céleste’s sudden reemergence, since that had been when he had first seen the not-so-dead witch. The lightness he had been feeling upon coming back to his lady faded a bit as the darker emotions from before came forward. He sighed heavily and turned away from the queen, heading toward the upgraded kitchen.

Eternity immediately followed him, sensing the change in his mood. “What is it? What happened?” She asked, as he went around the kitchen to see what her magic had conjured and making decisions for a late breakfast based on that. She came over to stand on the opposite side of the island, leaning over it casually as she waited for him to answer. When he didn’t immediately, she called to him, “Elijah?”

He still didn’t answer right away, as he tried to gather his thoughts. Instead, he busied himself in taking off his suit jacket and laying it on one of the bar chairs at the kitchen island. Then he unbuttoned the cuffs of his light blue dress shirt and proceeded to roll up his sleeves to his elbows. Without looking at his concerned fiancée, he moved into the kitchen once that was done to begin preparing their meal.

“Elijah.”

“Forgive me,” Elijah finally said, as he grabbed a brand new stainless steel frying pan and a carton of eggs, along with a small tub of butter, from the refrigerator. “There was an incident while I was out. Céleste came to the jewelry shop with a threat.”

Eternity on alert right away. She straightened a little bit as she asked, “What threat did she deliver unto you exactly?”

“She swore that we would never know happiness,” he told her with a heavy sigh, as he put the frying pan on the stove burner and heated it up. “That I would never know happiness. She said that there were others coming from my past, to seek vengeance for crimes gone unpunished. Céleste was focused upon me, but I sensed that she also referred to you, when she spoke of others coming.” He turned slightly to look at her over his shoulder. She looked just as stormy as he had when his former lover had made her threat.

“We cannot let these ghosts of the past win,” Eternity said softly with quiet determination.

“We won’t,” Elijah responded confidently. “I lost you once to someone of the past, I won’t let that happen again. We will defeat these foes together, whomever they are.” He flashed her a reassuring smile, as he went back to the refrigerator to collect more ingredients that he had noticed might be useful. The smile faded from his face as he continued, “It is still unsettling, regardless of how we handle the situation. I finally reclaimed my happiness and there is someone out there that wishes to take it from me, from us. I cannot abide by such a threat.”

Eternity agreed, “Aye, of course not.”

The sound of butter and eggs frying soon echoed into the air, along with the delicious scent. The engaged couple fell into a companionable quiet, as Elijah made breakfast. He had decided upon omelettes with bits of ham and green pepper mixed into the eggs. The smells of the cooking food were enough to make Eternity’s stomach growl audibly. The sound made him grin to himself, as he kept busy in his flipping of the eggs in the pan.

Then he heard her laugh quietly, in a reminiscing sort of way. “You find something amusing, Sweetheart?” Elijah asked her teasingly.

“I was simply remembering the dinner you made me when we had first met,” she replied fondly. “Then there was the breakfast the next morning, after we had...,” she trailed off, not because she was shy, but because she was being coy.

Of course, she didn’t need to vocalize the memories she was thinking about. He would remember their first coming together always. It would forever been imprinted upon his mind.

Then Eternity carried on, “Anyway, I recall it was omelettes you were preparing that following morning.”

“Ah yes, the ones that had been completely forgotten about,” Elijah turned back around with a finished omelette on a plate he had gotten out in his preparation for cooking. As he handed her a knife and fork, he grinned at her wickedly as he too recalled the events of that morning, of how he had been completely distracted by the seductive immortal queen he had been quickly falling in love with. “Those omelettes would have been damn good, such a shame.” He winked flirtatiously, before turning back around to the stove to finish up the other omelette he had been cooking for himself.

Elijah listened as Eternity began to dig into the food he had set in front of her. He heard her cut off a piece of the ham and green pepper omelette and a few seconds later heard the slight moan of pleasure that followed.

“Yes, you are definitely husband material, my love,” she said in between bites.

He laughed as he turned with his own plate of food, “Am I now? Well, I am glad that you think so, since you did accept my marriage proposal.”

Eternity smiled lovingly at him, before eating more of her omelette. She hummed appreciatively with every bite, which made Elijah fill with pride in his own cooking abilities, something he kept up out of a mix of mild enjoyment and necessity. Even so, he had to admit he loved it when his lady enjoyed something that he had made especially for her.

It didn’t take long for his bride-to-be to finish off the omelette with a satisfied smile upon her rose pink lips. He quickly followed suit, gobbling up the delicious breakfast his two hands had worked hard to put together. Eternity was right. He was husband material. With how good of a cook he was, he would probably marry himself, if he could.

His lady looked up at him with amused knowing, which meant she had heard his thoughts. Yet, she said nothing about it. Instead, once his plate was cleared, she snapped her fingers and everything was as it had been before; tidy and put away. Then with slow steps, Eternity went around the island to his side with Elijah watching her every move intensely the whole way.

She smiled sweetly as her little hand reached for his tie and yanking on it to pull his face down toward hers. Her mouth latched onto his quickly in a fiery kiss that left his heart pounding and his breath caught. As her tongue swept into his mouth, tasing him greedily, Elijah wrapped his arm around her strongly and pulled her into his side. He quickly took control of their kiss, pushing Eternity’s tongue out of his mouth, with his diving into hers to taste her hungrily.

They were so lost in their climbing passion that they almost didn’t hear the sudden knock on the front door. Almost.

It was an odd thing to hear, as nobody should have been coming to call since he and his lady had gone to the loft to hide out, away from his family in order to keep them safe. He reluctantly removed his mouth from hers and cautiously moved toward the front door with Eternity trailing behind him closely.

Once he reached it, Elijah opened it slightly and to his surprise, found Gia standing there without Hel by her side. How strange. He opened the door wider with narrowed eyes.

“Gia? What are you doing here?” He asked her suspiciously. Nobody, outside his family, was supposed to know where they were. The last he checked Gia hadn’t kept up contact with the other Mikaelsons since their split.

“I’m sorry about showing up out of the blue,” the baby vampire replied, as Elijah invited her inside like the gentleman he was, in spite of his suspicions. “I had to come see you,” the dark beauty said as she stepped inside.

Gia dead stopped as her eyes fell upon Eternity, whom in return stood tall with her hands folded in front of her like the royal that she was. It wasn’t a show of superiority or any sort of animosity, just formality in the face of someone the immortal queen wasn’t familiar with. At least, that was Elijah’s assumption.

“Where is my daughter, young Gia?” Eternity asked her, when she noticed she had come alone,

“Hel is distracted,” was Gia’s reply, but there was something off in the way she had said it. There was an almost sinister undertone to it that set every instinct in the Original vampire on edge. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”

Elijah watched at the way his lady’s expression grew darker, less trusting. Yes, something was definitely not right here, he thought as he moved around Gia to stand beside Eternity, protective in his stance, in spite of the fact that she was stronger than him. It didn’t matter. He would protect his lady love until his last breath, no matter what.

“Who are you?” Eternity quickly asked the other woman.

A sinister smirk spread across Gia’s face in such a way in which Elijah had never seen before. “I’m myself, if that is what you’re asking, but I suppose you could say that I’m not quite myself,” she answered mysteriously. “The darkness of heartbreak has been amplified inside me, giving me new perspective, new purpose.”

Elijah recognized that the things Gia was saying reflected what Céleste had told him earlier at the jewelry store. Though she was not dead like his former witch lover, it seemed his old flame had targeted the dark beauty, another former lover of his; the most recent one, who no doubt had a grudge against him, even if the real Gia would never act upon it. Not that he could blame her for whatever vengefulness the young vampire had, if that was indeed the case. He had been selfish and unfair to her in his grief over parting from his lady, Eternity.

“Gia, whatever this is, you don’t need to act upon it,” he tried to speak gently to her, the guilt of their facade of a relationship getting to him. “We can talk this out like civilized people. This doesn’t need to get out of hand.”

Gia’s dark eyes were emotionless as they looked upon him and it unnerved Elijah to no end. “It’s already out of hand, Elijah,” she said almost regretfully, despite her coldness. “You should have never loved me. You should have stayed away, remained alone until you could be reunited with the woman you really loved. Instead, you strung me along for years, gave me hope of a happy future, only to abandon me as if I were nothing. Now you will suffer.”

“Enough!” Eternity shouted authoritatively.

Both vampires turned their attentions to the immortal queen. She moved with grace as she stepped closer to the female, her hair rippling in a faster pace behind her as she went. It was a sign of her power coming to life, meaning she was going to use it to subdue the possessed Gia.

Elijah knew that Eternity wouldn’t kill the other woman. It wasn’t in her nature, unlike his own. If his lady hadn’t been there, he knew he wouldn’t have hesitated to put the young vampire down. Same with that possessed human from before.

His first instinct was to kill the threat outright. It was an automatic reaction to eliminate a threat through the violence of death - their death. Elijah didn’t think of alternatives ever, which was why he was thankful for Eternity’s presence. She was merciful. She would find another way. She had another way.

“This is a warning shot only,” Gia grinned at the queen manically and then at Elijah. “A simple preview of what is to come.”

“Be gone,” was all Eternity replied with.

From those two little words, the evil that possessed Elijah’s former was drawn out of her body. The female vampire instantaneously began to convulse erratically. It only lasted a second before the dark beauty collapsed to the floor unconscious.

They both rushed to Gia’s side to make sure she was okay.

“She’ll be alright,” Eternity reassured him, as she looked the female vampire over. “The dark spell upon her has been lifted.”

Elijah breathed a sigh of relief.

“But one must wonder, just how many lovers did you love and leave scorned, my love?”

**To Be Continued....**


	17. Eternity’s Confession +18

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

************

When Gia finally awoke, she was disoriented. She didn’t seem to have any idea as to what had happened or how she had gotten to the old loft. She sat up with a start to find herself laying on the couch with Eternity sitting on the opposite one, while Elijah pacing worriedly behind her. He was deeply concerned for the young vampire, afraid for her since someone from his past had decided to hijack her for malicious purposes. Her safety had been compromised and he found that unsettling, to say the least.

“Where is Hel?” The dark beauty asked, looking around the place for Eternity’s daughter.

“We do not know,” Eternity replied gently. “You came here spelled by some malicious entity. You were not yourself. If I may ask, what is the last thing you remember?”

Gia frowned contemplatively, her brows furrowing in concentration as she did. “Hel and I were enjoying a day of shopping in the Quarter,” she replied. “We were just looking around, you know? Not really doing much, besides window shopping in the Quarter. I remember suddenly not feeling very well and Hel screaming my name in a panic, but everything is dark after that - fuzzy. I don’t remember anything that came next.”

“Well, do not fret about it. The evil done unto you will not be back for a second strike,” Eternity told her. “I can promise you that. For now, it is best that we get you back to my daughter. Knowing Hel, she is probably out of her mind with worry. I can see that you two have grown quite close, from your reaction upon waking, and my child is always fiercely protective of those she cares about. It’s one of her best qualities.” She smiled gently.

Gia nodded with a small, fond smile, “It is. I’ve really grown to like Hel.”

Just then, Eternity’s daughter appeared in the room as if she had been summoned. Immediately the younger immortal, whom resembled her mother uncannily, was across the room and embracing Gia on the couch. “Oh, thank the universes that you are alright,” she murmured to the other woman.

The female vampire embraced Hel in return with a sigh of relief. It was obvious to Elijah, as well, that the two women had grown quite close in the months since Gia had left his protection. In fact, they looked like the best of friends to him, at first, but then he noticed something surprising as the pair pulled back to gaze at each other. He couldn’t see Hel’s eyes from his position behind the opposite couch, but his ex-fiancée’s were shining with an adoration reserved for lovers.

It seemed love was in the air for the younger immortal and the young vampire. Elijah was happy for Gia. He was glad that someone could help her mend her broken heart since it had been he who broke it.

“I’m sorry, Gia,” Hel murmured to the dark beauty. “I didn’t mean for harm to come to you.”

“It’s okay, I’m okay,” the female vampire reassured her. “Just take me home, alright, and we’ll call it even.”

Eternity’s daughter nodded and then turned toward her mother, falling to one knee upon the floor in front of her with her head bowed. “Forgive me, Mama,” she said. “I have failed in my mission. I swear it won’t happen again. I promise you upon the pain of death to be more vigilant in the future.”

The immortal queen smiled softly at her child, “There is no need for this extreme apology, daughter. You are young and still coming into your role as a protector. I will however hold you to your promise to be more vigilant. There are many evils about. You must be forever ready for them.”

“I swear, Mama,” Hel looked up at her mother with a determined look in her eyes.

With one final nod from Eternity, the younger immortal got to her feet and turned back to Gia with an outstretched hand. The vampire smiled widely and took it in her own, letting Hel tug her up from the couch. They turned to exit without further words being exchanged.

However, Eternity approached Gia before the pair could head out. “I promise you that nobody will ever take control of you again,” she said firmly with confidence. “Elijah and I will ensure that whomever used you as a pawn will pay dearly. You have my word on that.”

The dark beauty nodded curtly, still feeling a little bit of hostility toward the ethereal woman for Elijah’s choosing her over Gia, after he had swore to spend his life with the baby vampire. It was obvious to Elijah by the way her dark eyes lit up with the subtle fires of anger and heartbreak. He felt terrible still for how things had happened, but he couldn’t regret their parting ways as Eternity was where his heart had always laid.

“I hope so,” Gia replied to queen tightly. She suddenly glanced down at the ring on Eternity’s finger and quickly looked back up at her to say, “Congratulations on your engagement, by the way. I hope the two of you will be very happy.” She didn’t say this in a disrespectful way, but even in her neutral way of speaking, there was obviously some subtle belligerence there in her tone of voice.

Neither Eternity nor Elijah said anything in response. Instead they simply watched as Gia and Hel walked away, leaving the loft completely. Elijah realized that she never said anything to him nor had she even look at him. Part of him was unbothered by this, but his pride as an Original vampire was stung a little by her lack of acknowledgement of his presence, heartbreak or no.

Thinking on it, however, perhaps it was for the best she moved along without turning her justified anger onto him. Though Elijah understood why she was hostile and took full responsibility for it, he knew he would refuse to let her get away with disrespecting him as her superior, according to vampire hierarchy. He didn’t want to be forced to cause more problems by asserting his place above her as vampires.

“Well, that went better than expected,” Eternity quipped as she turned back to face him, once the pair had gone.

Elijah walked up to his lady with fluidness and smoothed back the hair that framed her face, while his other hand remained in his pants pocket. “Yes, it did,” he said to her softly, ready to get back to their previous tenderness, before the interruption.

She smiled at him fondly, before it faded into concern. “I fear what is to come next,” Eternity told him. “If this has been just a warning from Loki in the afterlife, then what else does that bastard have planned?” She turned away from his touch with her hands threading through her hair in frustration. It was very human of her, yet fitting for who she was. “I thought with his death,” she carried on, “I’d be rid of him for good. I’d be...free. Alas, that seems to be a wish never granted.”

Elijah didn’t know what to say to her. What could he possibly say to comfort her? He was no match for Loki, if that was truly who their enemy was. It was likely, but had yet to be confirmed it was the Trickster causing problems. If it was, it wasn’t as if he could promise her to deal with the fiend himself, as he would if Loki and Eternity were Earth-based immortals. Elijah felt frustration well up in him, the same as his lady’s; though his was at the fact that he was still helpless.

“My grandmother was right!” Eternity shouted into the air angrily. “I should have never married that bastard!”

Immediately, she stopped and turned back around to face Elijah with a timid, almost guilty expression. Her eyes were wide as she realized what she had blurted out.

Married? They had been married?

Elijah had his suspicions that was the case all along. Their relationship had been long lasting and they had children together. The possibility of matrimony between them made sense, so it wasn’t that much of a shock to find out the truth. However, what got to him about her unintended confession was the fact Eternity had omitted that little piece of information in her retellings of her relationship with the Trickster. Omission was the same as lying and that was something that Elijah never stood for.

It was apparent by the way his lady was looking at him now that she knew this about him too. Of course she did. Why wouldn’t she?

He felt a bit of anger build up in him, because of her previously being less than truthfulness. His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed upon her remorseful face.

“Elijah,” Eternity said slowly, “I always meant to tell you the truth, but whenever we would speak of Loki, I found I simply didn’t want to admit to that fact - that I had been his wife and he my husband. I was ashamed, I suppose. I rarely spoke of him as my ex-husband in the four hundred years I spent running from him. Yes, I did divorce him long before we met, to be clear. Even so, I didn’t want anyone to know I had foolishly loved that man, let alone that I had married him. I don’t know what I thought in not telling you from the start, but perhaps I simply didn’t want you to think poorly of me for my choices or to mistrust me because of them.”

Elijah gazed at her intensely. He didn’t like being lied to, but he supposed the offense wasn’t that grave since at the very least, she hadn’t revealed to him that she had been married to Loki the whole time they had been together. He hadn’t been ‘the other man’ in this, as the Trickster and her had been already divorced during their whirlwind love affair. As a result of this fact, his anger dissipated as quickly as it had arose.

The Original approached her with a soft, genuine smile as to show he wasn’t angry with her. He reached and cupped the side of her face, while she stood perfectly still before him. She said nothing else, only gazed at him expectantly as she waited for him to speak.

“You should know I would never think poorly of you, because of whom you had chosen to bind yourself to,” he told her. “After all, I, myself, have loved and believed in the wrong person, a time or two. Nobody understands that more than I, I don’t think.”

Elijah paused to take her hand into his other one and rubbed his thumb over the back of it as a show of affection. “No, but I am not at all pleased that you would omit the truth about your relationship with Loki,” he gave her a pointed look with a little smirk upon his lips, “or that you would think so poorly of me, that you would think it possible for me to think less of you for your past choices.” He sighed deeply before he gently said, “Sweetheart, I love you and I will always think the world of you, no matter what.”

“Elijah,” she breathed his name with an adoring smile, relief evident in her sweet face as she looked apologetically at him. “I am sorry for hiding the truth from you. I shouldn’t have done that. I love you with all my heart.”

His mouth descended upon hers immediately. He kissed her with everything he had, his tongue slipping into her mouth to plunder the cavern throughly. She melted against him, her hands sliding up to thread through his short hair. One of his hands caressed down her back over the silkiness of her lavender dress, the very one that she had changed into when they had left the compound. It came to rest on her waist, while his other hand came to cup the side her neck.

He wanted her badly. It was almost concerning how he seemed to never be satisfied. He always wanted more of her. He was sure he had this thought before, but he couldn’t help thinking: never in his long life had Elijah ever quite felt an insatiable need for another. Eternity was an all consuming fire that burned through him, igniting every passion in him until he felt as though he couldn’t even breathe.

Just how did he manage to spend ten years without her? He had to wonder.

Eternity pulled back to smile up at him adoringly. Her big sapphire eyes gazed into his own as she simply looked at him. She didn’t speak at all and really, she didn’t need to. Everything was there written upon her face.

Elijah leaned down to rest his forehead against hers with his eyes closed, as he simply held her to him. There was nothing but happiness between them - and peace, in spite of all the insanity of the day. Nothing and nobody could ruin it, not Céleste, not Loki, not even Bruno. All their enemies could come at them at once right then and it wouldn’t change the near euphoric feeling of the tender moment between them.

This time, Elijah pulled back to kiss her forehead and smile at her with an adoration all his own.

Eternity returned his smile with a coy one. “Make love to me, Elijah,” she whispered to him.

He didn’t need to be told twice.

Elijah lifted her hands to rest on his chest. He grinned mischievously as he quietly commanded, “Undress me.”

She immediately did as he requested. First, she removed his tie from around his neck and tossed it aside. Then Eternity pulled his shirt from where it had been tucked into his pants and deftly attacked the buttons of his dress shirt, undoing them all. He helped her remove it by shrugging out of it. She tossed that article aside as well, before gazing at him appreciatively, admiring him in his half naked glory.

Suddenly, her mouth was upon him. Eternity’s lips trailed over his jaw, down his neck, and further down his chest, where she peppered open mouthed kisses to his skin. As she did this, her hands moved to undo his pants, opening them swiftly with one hand dipping inside to caress his already hardened length.

Elijah gasped quietly at her touch, his heart rate having greatly increased by it. His eyes shut tightly at the wonderful feeling of her hand on him, as she began to stroke his cock slowly. He let her do as she pleased for a little while, moaning as his need climbed to higher levels from her caresses to his sensitive skin.

Then just as suddenly as she had begun to touch him, she pulled away completely. His eyes flashed open at the same time as he groaned in disappointment at the loss. Eternity took a few graceful steps back from Elijah, reaching around back of her to tug the ties to her dress loose. She let the light fabric fall into a pool at her feet, revealing her complete nakedness to him.

She was perfection, he thought as he hungrily gazed at her form.

In a couple long strides he had her lifted into his arms with her legs wrapped firmly around his waist. His mouth attached itself to hers, their tongues dancing together as he walked them over to one of the couches. Elijah laid her across it with him hovering over Eternity, as they continued to kiss.

The immortal queen magicked away the rest of his clothes, including his socks and shoes, without prompt. Then she pushed him back, guiding him until he was sitting on the couch with her straddling him. The ethereal beauty gazed at him hotly, while her hand reached between them to grab hold of his cock and guided him into her wet warmth. Eternity sank down onto him slowly until he was buried deep.

Elijah’s hands automatically fell to her hips, ready to help her move over him. However, his lady had other ideas it seemed. She grabbed his wrists in her stronger grip and pulled his hands away from her form. She threaded her fingers through his and pushed his hands back against the couch, holding him there as she began to move over him all on her own.

Eternity’s playful gaze locked onto his intense one as she rode him steadily. She lifted herself and slammed back down on his cock, over and over again, while he was left to watch helplessly. His hands itched to touch her, and he tried to free himself from her grasp, but she refused to give them back to him.

Elijah growled at her in displeasure, but she only grinned wickedly at him. Eternity began riding him even faster, until he was tossing his head back against the couch with his eyes screwed shut from the pleasure she brought onto his body. His mouth was agape as he panted breathlessly, feeling the fires of his need climbing higher and higher and higher still.

Finally, Eternity allowed him back one of his hands, guiding it herself to the hidden jewel between her legs. “Touch me, Elijah,” she breathed needfully. “Touch me.”

Elijah did as she beckoned and let his fingers play over her clit rapidly, wanting nothing more than for her to come with him. He was already so close to completion, he could practically taste it. What kind of gentleman would he be, if he didn’t ensure she went with him over the edge?

Then with a few more thrusts downward, it happened. He came with a loud cry with his head thrown back against the couch and his hips spasming as he did. Eternity followed him over the edge, crying out into the air as her walls clamped down on him.

They both quacked in orgasm and then she slumped against him with her face hidden in the crock of his neck. In the afterglow, Elijah held her to him, stroking her hair with one hand while the other caressed her back beneath the copious amounts of white hair.

“I love you, Elijah,” she murmured against his neck.

Elijah couldn’t help but to grin into her hair, “And I love you, Sweetheart - always and forever.”

Then, in a playful impulse, he flipped Eternity over to lay back on the couch and proceeded to have his wicked way with her all over again, as he saw fit.

**To Be Continued....**


	18. Talk of the Future

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

************

Six months went by quickly since Elijah and his lady went to live at the loft across the river from the French Quarter of New Orleans in Algiers. In that time, their enemies had been quiet. He hadn’t had any more visitations from dead exes. There also hadn't been much activity from Bruno; though there had been a few reports of witches being murdered for their powers in Spain and France, just as Eternity had predicted there would be.

Though she hadn’t been able to help those witches from their deaths, she immediately sent word to the Underground Agency to order them to send out soldiers to protect the covens worldwide. The superhuman agents would be able to dissuade Bruno from killing more witches, at least for a time.

This allowed Eternity to remain inactive, giving her the opportunity for some downtime with Elijah. He was grateful for it as well, happy to not spend his days in constant peril. He enjoyed spending his time with his lady, as an ordinary couple would.

They went places like to the movies or out to dinner. Sometimes they would stay inside and he would cook for them. Then they would curl up together and he would read Shakespeare to her or they would play chess or card games, of which Eternity proved to be quite skilled at both activities. Of course, they also made love frequently too, in between all the mundane human activities they enjoyed doing together.

Life was good and Elijah found himself at peace, a concept that had been elusive to him for most of his immortal life.

All the while during those wonderful months of tranquility, he planned his wedding with his bride-to-be. They talked about it almost as frequently as they made love. They had decided on a wedding in Japan, the homeland of Eternity’s family. His lady spoke of the elusive cousin he had yet to meet whom lived there - the very one thatthe old man, Mr. Mitchell, had mentioned seeing once, all those years ago. She told him that her cousin could perform the ceremony, though Kaname would want to meet him first.

From there, they spoke of whom to invite. Elijah had assumed the guest list would be quite long since she was the Universal Queen. Surely there had been diplomats and councilmen that needed to attend, as was custom to how he knew royal weddings went. Yet, Eternity surprised him by saying she wanted the affair to be small and intimate with his family and hers in attendance only. It was unconventional, but Elijah wasn’t one to speak on the matter. It simply wasn’t his place.

His lady did inform him that after the wedding, they would need to meet with the other rulers in the Universal Kingdom, as to establish him as her consort. The rest of the Immortal Universe needed to know the man who would hold the second positioned authority in her kingdom to her. However, it could wait until after they were married.

Of course both their families had been informed of the upcoming nuptials. Everyone was excited and happy for them. With the Mikaelsons, congratulatory drinks had been passed around, complete with toasts to the happy couple. Elijah was unsure how Eternity’s family took the news as the announcement was sent out via telepathic message, but she told him that everyone was surprised, yet receptive to her upcoming wedding and those whom hadn’t met Elijah were excited to meet the man whom Eternity was in love with. At least, that was what she told him.

From venue to decor, they talked about their visions for the wedding - and the future as well.

One evening as they sat together at the kitchen island sharing a meal that he had cooked himself, Elijah found himself mentioning to her, “You know, my only disappointment in this union is that you and I will never be able to have children of our own. Of course I will love the ones you already have, do not misunderstand me, but it would have been wonderful to also have our own.”

Eternity didn’t seem to share in his disappointment when he spoke this truth. In fact, she grinned slyly at him, as she mysteriously said, “Who says we cannot have children together?”

Elijah gazed at her confusedly, “What do you mean? You know, vampires cannot procreate.”

She laughed lightly and looked at him as if he were ridiculous. When he frowned in displeasure at her, she quickly explained, “When I cast the spell to upgrade you and your family, it will rewrite the dark magic that flows through you all. You will no longer be bound by the natural balance rules of this world, meaning I can allow you the ability to procreate, while retaining your vampirism. I can grant the same to your siblings as well as Marcel and Sage. I’m sure Rebekah will be jumping at the chance as she’s always wanted a family.”

Elijah had been rendered speechless by what she told him. He stared at her with his mouth agape and his food momentarily forgotten. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing at first.

Then it hit him.

They could have children? They could have children!

He was out of his chair and pulling Eternity out of hers. He collected her in his arms and held her tightly to him from the elation he felt towards the information she had just given him. He pulled back with what was surely the biggest grin on his face and laid kisses all over Eternity’s face and head. He then hugged her to him again.

“If this is how happy you are finding out it’s possible,” Eternity giggled at him, “just how excited are you going to get when it actually happens?”

“I will be the happiest man ever to have lived when the day you tell me you’re carrying my child comes,” Elijah spoke softly, taking her face in his hands tenderly. “Nothing, aside from you becoming my wife, would make me happier.”

Eternity beamed at him, “Well, I am glad that you’re keen to the idea of having children.”

“Of course,” he responded eagerly. “I am like my sister in that regard. I’ve always wanted a family of my own, but I never thought it possible. So I never allowed myself to desire such, believing it would forever be out of my reach,” he kissed her lips tenderly, “but with you, my darling Eternity, everything is possible. My happiness, my hope for the future - everything lays right here with you.”

“I cannot cry, as it is a physical impossibility,” she told him, her voice trembling with emotion, “but if I could, I would be in the joy your words bring me. I am moved by them. Truly. And I very much feel the same way. I am not alive unless I am with you, my love. I never want to be anywhere you are not. I look forward to whatever the future has in store for us, including whatever children we may have.”

He kissed her again, her words moving him as well. He was truly turning into the sentimental old fool that Niklaus always claimed him to be, but he couldn’t help it. He loved this woman so completely.

“With how insatiable I find myself with you, Sweetheart,” Elijah grinned teasingly, “I think we shall have a large brood. No doubt, I shall have you in a constant barefoot and pregnant state with how much I always want you.” He paused and thought about it for a moment, before nodding, “Yes, a dozen of them, I predict.”

Eternity’s eyes widened at him and then she laughed, “Is that right? Well, we shall see, my love.”

She kissed him this time with a smile upon her lips. Then she pulled back to wind her arms around his neck as she suggested, “I think we should go out tonight. I’m thinking perhaps you can take me dancing, as a celebration of this happy time of our lives.”

“That sounds like a delightful idea, my darling,” he replied, then nodded to their half eaten meals. “We should probably finish eating first, though. Then I’ll take you to this little club I know of here in Algiers, called Saint James. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

“Agreed,” nodded Eternity.

With that, they sat and finished their respective meals quickly. All the while, they shot smiles at each other and touched affectionately on occasion.

Elijah was simply over the moon, knowing that one day, he’d be able to have children with the woman he loved more than anything. He’d finally have the family that he so desired, and quite frankly, looked forward to Rebekah learning of this gift Eternity planned on bestowing them all.

He knew with absolutely certainty that his baby sister would be as ecstatic as he was about the possibility of having a family. He could see her face light up and the tears of happiness she would surely shed upon hearing about Eternity’s gift.

As soon as they were done eating, Eternity did the clean up by magical means. A quick snap and everything was back to a tidy and organized state.

Then Elijah, whom had been dressed in his typical suit and tie ensemble, requested his lady magic him up a more casual attire. She did as he asked and conjured a simper outfit for him that consisted of dark blue jeans, a olive green long sleeved shirt, and brown dress boots.

“Thank you, Sweetheart,” he grinned at her in approval of her magical choices.

She grinned back and then changed her own clothes. She went from her typical flowing maxi dress to a short light gray sweater dress that was casual and a pair of heeled black ankle boots. Her long, ankle length hair magicked itself into a braid with little pink flower accents weaves into it. She also wore large silver hoop earrings and a silver necklace with a unicorn pendant upon it.

Elijah found her casual attire more alluring than her typical wears. Perhaps it was because she looked so ordinary. There was simply something attractive about the humanness of her appearance that he couldn’t quite explain.

Whatever it was that had him especially smitten, one thing that he knew for sure was that tonight they would be ordinary people, just and man and his woman, going out to have a good time. Nothing was more attractive than that fact.

Elijah held his hand out to Eternity upon her change of clothing and she took it without hesitation. Threading his fingers with hers, he lead her out of the loft.

The Saint James Infirmary jazz club wasn’t that far from where they lived and it was an easy walk there. The evening was warm and dry, so Elijah decided that a walk would only make the night more perfect.

The entire way he discussed baby names with Eternity, whom humored him in his excitementtoward the idea of having children. He had told her that if they had a boy, they would name their son Henrik in honor of his deceased brother. She had suggested Katerina for a girl, which had given Elijah pause. Katerina was his ex Katherine’s true name and he wasn’t sure how he felt about naming his daughter with Eternity after her.

“I know that you have a former lover named that, but I absolutely adore the name,” Eternity told him, when he gazed at her oddly as they walked on. “It is a regal name, one befit a princess, and our daughter would be exactly that.”

“Yes, but there are many other names to that effect, Sweetheart,” he said, not outright rejecting her name choice, but certainly not giving it much merit. “Arianna, for example. That is a fine name for a princess of the highest order.” He grinned at her.

“Well, keep an open mind about it, yes?” She replied.

“As my lady wishes,” he nodded.

Then after a small companionable silence, Eternity changed the subject by saying, “I want us to marry soon.”

“Oh?”

“Aye.”

“And why is that, Sweetheart?”

“Because on the night of our wedding, I wish to perform the higher order ceremony upon you and your family,” Eternity told him, just as they were arriving at the Saint James club.

They paused outside the club with Elijah turning to her.

“It is imperative that you and yours are upgraded as soon as possible,” the immortal queen explained without prompt. “It won’t be much longer before Bruno grows weary of killing witches and other Earth-based supernatural beings for power. He’ll make another strike against us sooner or later and you all need to be ready for it. So what better time to perform the ceremony then at our wedding, when two families become one.”

Elijah thought about it and didn’t see any reason to reject the idea. She certainly had a point. So long as Bruno was out there, his family was more vulnerable than they would be if Eternity preformed the higher order ceremony and upgraded them, so they could have some protection against their common enemy.

“Alright,” he agreed. “How about this? Let’s get married in three weeks. That should be enough time to get everything prepared and ready. Then at the end of the wedding, we’ll perform the other ceremony.”

Eternity smiled, “Yes, that sounds splendid.”

With the arrangement made, Elijah lead her into the club.

Everything was in full swing inside. Like with most clubs, the music was obnoxiously loud and chatter from the patrons just as much. There were bodies all over; many were on the dance floor, while others stood at the bar or at the high top tables chatting with each other. The energy was high and it was the perfect place to celebrate, especially since they were amongst the supernatural community and they didn’t have to pretend to be human.

Immediately did Eternity drag Elijah onto the dance floor, swinging her hips the the uptempo jazz beat once they were amongst the other dancers. He watched her move, admiring the carefree way she smiled at him, before he fell into step with her. He wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing the flesh of her arm as he did, before letting his hands fall to her hips as they moved to n perfect sync to the music’s rhythm.

“This reminds me of our time in Chicago, at the Blood Rose Club,” Eternity said to him, in a normal voice as his vampire hearing allowed him to hear her perfectly without her having to shout. “Though we did a different kind of dancing that night.”

At her filthy grin she gave him, Elijah found himself returning it in kind. “Oh yes, my sweet, I remember it quite well,” he replied. “With you, Sweetheart, my inhibitions are certainly nonexistent. I have no self-control where you are concerned and I’ll gladly take you anywhere, anytime, no matter where we are or who is around.”

He pulled her hips against his for emphasis, enjoying the wide eyed expression on her face from the suddenness of his movements. She smirked mischievously at him in response, before kissing him hotly in the middle of the dance floor. Her tongue invaded his mouth, tasting him throughly, which he let her do to her contentment. His desire for her rose as it always did and he found his grip on her hips tightening as she kissed him.

“Oh yes,” Elijah murmured, as he pulled back, before he really did lose control on the dance floor, “we are definitely having a large brood of children, especially if you plan to always kiss me like that, Sweetheart.”

Eternity giggled lightly and shook her head at him.

“Ah, look at the happy couple,” called a familiar voice suddenly - Kol!

Elijah and his lady both turned to see the younger Mikaelson and his witch lover, Davina Claire. It seemed he wasn’t the only one whom had the idea of a date at the jazz club. The older Original grinned at his brother, “Kol! what a pleasant surprise. It seems Mikaelsons think alike, Brother.”

“Yes, it’s good to see you, Elijah,” Kol replied. “We haven’t seen you since you announced your engagement to this lovely creature here.” He smiled charmingly at Eternity, who simply smiled back politely. “Come, Brother,” the younger Mikaelson turned back to Elijah, “let us have a drink together, while our women enjoy the music.”

Elijah looked at Eternity for approval. He didn’t want to leave her side, if she didn’t him to, but she only nodded and let him go with a parting flirtatious wink.

He smirked in return, before leaving her with Davina and following Kol to the bar. They ordered a bourbon each and leaned back against the bar top, observing their ladies as they laughed and danced together, like old friends.

Elijah found it a mix of oddity and fascination how Eternity, despite being thousands of years old looked much younger than Davina, whom was a young adult now. Her youthful exterior was something he always overlooked since he knew she was in reality much older than him. He had to wonder what he looked like to others with the almost childlike queen on his arm, when he himself looked much older - having been pushing thirty for a thousand years.

“So, when are you two going to walk down the aisle?” Kol asked him, bringing him out his wonderings.

“Ironic that you ask that, we only just decided this night to wed three weeks from now in Japan,” Elijah answered, sipping from his glass as he did. “Speaking of which, do me a favor and tell our siblings for me? I’ll have Eternity send word to Niklaus, Hayley, and Hope.”

Kol nodded, “Sure, Elijah. It will be my pleasure to play messenger.”

“Tell them that I’ll be coming by the compound in a week, too, because I have something of great importance to tell all of you,” he told his little brother. “So, remember to be there, Kol.”

“Yes, big brother,” the younger Mikaelson sighed exasperatedly. “Are there any more orders you wish to bark at me or are you quite through?”

Elijah eyed his brother with a small smile, taking another sip of bourbon. He said nothing in response.

Alternatively, he gaze returned to his lady on the dance floor. He watched her move with Davina as they wiggled about to the beat of the live band. He enjoyed the view, noticing the way Eternity would glance back at him mischievously, as if she had known he was watching all along.

“You know, you seem different around her,” Kol observed, gesturing to the ethereal beauty. “There’s a light in your eyes, brother, that I have never seen before. You certainly seem less brooding, more alive. Perhaps Eternity has done what no other has been able to and finally loosened the stick that’s been up your ass for centuries.” He smirked over his glass at him, as he drank heartily from it.

Elijah chose to ignore his smart mouthed remarks and focused on his genuine observations instead. “You are right, Kol. Eternity has changed me. I am not the same man with her,” he said with an adoring smile at his lady across the way. “In all my long existence, I have only known darkness and misery with small moments of happiness. We all have, as a matter of fact. Our brother usually being the reason for such, but my relationship wut Eternity is something he cannot ruin, despite having come close once. No, I have finally found my peace, my light - and it is all in her.” He nodded toward the dancing goddess.

“How sentimentally poetic,” his little brother replied, gazing at his own woman, “but I am happy for you. It seems we have both found our lights in our dark, dark world.”

“Yes, it would seem so.”

The two brothers fell into a companionable silence, enjoying the sights of their respective lovers having fun on the dance floor. It brought Elijah joy to see Eternity happy.

However, it seemed the light-hearted evening wasn’t meant to last. There was suddenly a terrible shift in the club’s atmosphere in the form of a sinister presence, of whom caught everyone’s attention as they were all supernatural and sensitive to the auras of dark entities.

At first, Elijah’s heart nearly stopped at the sight of the dark man that had come to call. It wasn’t possible, he thought in a fearful panic. The man looked like Loki! Yet, he knew that wasn’t right. Loki was dead, despite his recent trickery from the afterlife. So, if not the Trickster, then who was this gentleman and why did he stare at Eternity with such hostility?

Immediately, both Originals went to their lovers sides protectively, as the club came to a stand still in fear and uncertainty of this stranger who was an obvious threat. Everyone stopped to stare at him, as the man slithered closer to Eternity, who stared back unafraid and authoritatively.

“Jor,” the ethereal woman whispered the man’s name darkly.

Jor smirked maliciously, “Hello, Mother.”

**To Be Continued....**


	19. The Insane Son

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

************

Jor!

This man was Eternity’s eldest child, the one whom sided with Loki. He recalled what Eternity had told him about the young immortal. He hated his mother and worshipped his father like the god he was not.

From what Elijah understood there was a long line of contention between mother and son over this fact. Jor believed Loki to be the wronged party and believed Eternity had forsaken the Trickster with malicious intent. In other words, in the younger immortal’s mind, him mother was the villain and his father was the victim, when in truth, it was the other way around.

Physically speaking, Jor was a spitting image of his father. There was barely any distinction between the two. He was of the same height and slender build. He had the same aristocratic features, same twisted smile, same pointed nose and thin lips. He even had Loki’s bright red hair and wore the same silks and leathers his father did. In fact, the only thing that was from his mother were his sapphire blue eyes.

“Jor? What are you doing here?” Eternity asked her son warily.

“I heard you were getting married,” he replied, with a lighter version of Loki’s voice. “Word has spread through the cosmos of the Universal Queen’s unusual husband-to-be. An Earth-based immortal, to be exact. I had to see if it were true and let me say, what a downgrade from Father! Really, Mother? Surely you could do better than...this.” He gestured at Elijah with disgust, “or better yet, you could have simply stayed with Father instead of murdering him.”

“Your father was lost, Jor, to his darkness,” Eternity replied calmly. “There was no coming back from it for him. He was a threat to the innocent and I had to do it. I had to kill him. He wasn’t going to stop and I, as a guardian, had to put him down as I would any enemy. Duty before the heart, my son.”

Jor’s face twisted into a horrible snarl as he shouted in a fury, “He was my father!”

“Yes he was and I can see his darkness in you,” she responded just as evenly, with a hint of sadness in her tone. “You are your father’s son. Be careful of the footsteps you follow. There is nothing but misery down that path. Now, what is it that you have come for? Besides to be angry with me, of course.”

Jor grinned sinisterly.

It was so foreboding that it sent chills down Elijah’s spine, whom stood beside his lady during this exchange. He was immediately set on edge with worry for his lady. He bristled at the threat before them, wishing more than anything that he wasn’t so helpless against the higher classes of immortals. That and he didn’t care for the boy’s condescending regard of himself, as if he were less than. It was rather insulting and wounded his pride as an Original. If only they weee more evenly matched, then he’d teach Jor some manners.

Then the younger immortal turned his hateful gaze on Elijah. “So you are the husband-to-be. I could crush you so very easily,” he sneered at him. “I do hope you never expect me to call you my father, as you are not only unworthy of my mother, but you are also unworthy of my respect or to be part of this family. You are beneath us all.”

Elijah was infuriated by his cruel words. His jaw tightened and his hands balled into fists, as they itched to retaliate. However, before he could respond, his lady stepped between them protectively.

“Enough, Jor,” Eternity growled warningly.

Loki’s mirror image turned his attentions back to his mother. “Or what? You’ll kill me?” He taunted and then snickered.

She stepped closer to her son, “Do not tempt me, child.”

Jor only grinned wider, seeming to be unafraid of his mother’s threat. “If you do, Mommy, then you shall never see your beloved middle son again,” he murmured down to her cruelly, causing her to gasp and take a step back.

“What have you done?” Eternity sounded horrified.

“Nothing much, I only tried to make dear Fenrir see the errors on his ways in supporting you one more time, after I learned of your horrid plans to replace our father,” the insane young immortal shrugged nonchalantly. “I wanted him to side with me, so that maybe we could talk sense into you for this terrible decision. Unfortunately, he’s as stubborn as you are, Mother, and still refuses to join the right side.”

Provoked, she lashed out in a rage. With psychic powers, she threw her own son across the room,sending him through the wall and into the parking lot. Jor’s body left a considerable hole there. Eternity followed his path with the grace of a panther, ready to strike again.

Elijah and Kol both chased after her. One brother wanted to make sure his lady stayed safe, while the other simply wanted to enjoy the show. The younger Mikealson did get a thrill seeing chaos unfold; though usually he was the cause of said chaos.

“Where is he?” Eternity demanded of her son, as he staggered to his feet. Her katana appeared in her hand, unsheathed and ready for use. “Speak quickly!”

Jor only laughed, “Denounce your ridiculous engagement to that inferior man and I’ll tell you, Mother!”

She wasn’t about to do as the young fool demanded. Instead, she attacked her son, forcing him to conjure his own sword - a broadsword to be exact - and defend himself against her relentless assault upon him.

Jor was a good swordsman, but Eternity was of course better. She didn’t give him any room to counter her, only to block her blade strokes. They moved with equal speed, evenly matched in that regard. However, one single misstep had Eternity’s insane son flat on his back with his sword tossed away from him, out of reach. That one miscalculation had him defeated.

Elijah’s lady stood over the boy with the point of her katana directed at Jor’s throat. “You will tell me where your brother is or so help me, I will end you here and now,” she hissed threateningly.

Elijah was impressed and turned on by Eternity in warrior mode. What made it truly sexy in this instance was the fact that she had fought her son in her short sweater dress and wedges. She was truly remarkable to be able to fight in any apparel and he found he could watch her fight all day long.

“The warehouse by the docks,” Jor groaned up at Eternity with a defiant gaze, despite having been defeated. “You’ll find your precious Fenrir there. This is far from over. Till we meet again, Mother.”

Then, as quickly as he had come, Loki’s lookalike vanished like a coward.

The ethereal beauty let her blade disappear from her hand and turned worriedly to Elijah, whom had been near by. “I have to go get my son,” she said urgently.

Elijah only nodded and proceeded to go to her side. He was of course going with her, not wanting her to make the journey alone. He wanted to support her in everything, especially if he was going to become her husband soon enough. That and he was rather curious to finally meet this other child of his lady’s. He wrapped his arm around Eternity’s waist and raced off at vampire’s speed to the warehouses by the docks.

Once there, his lady sensed out where exactly Jor had stashed Fenrir and together, they entered the warehouse cautiously. There was no telling what lay ahead, if her mad son had left traps for them. He did yield rather easy and Elijah wondered as to why.

“Because Jor wants to believe himself to be a ruthless villain like his father, but he doesn’t actually have the stomach to follow through,” Eternity whispered to him, answering his thoughts.“The only reason why he kidnapped Fenrir in order to try and turn him against me is because, well because my younger son is vulnerable, an easy target as he is rather timid and not at all interested in fighting or leading or anything that has to do with conflict. Jor has always bullied his brother into yielding to him. Though, it would seem Fenrir finally learning to stand up for himself as my eldest wasn’t able to get him to give in this time.”

They moved quietly through the warehouse behind crates and stacks of pallets, sticking to the shadows until they knew it was safe to venture about without worry of ambush. They went around in stealth until Fenrir came into view.

The boy was tied to a chair with his arms shackled with strange gold bracelets. He looked bruised and bloody - unconscious by the way that his head dangled downward.

Elijah and his lady waited near by, until they knew that nobody else was there. Then as one, hand in hand, they still moved in with caution, just to be safe. There was no telling what could happen in enemy territory, even a defeated one’s.

“Damn,” Eternity muttered as she reached her son, her eyes automatically falling to the golden bracelets upon his wrists. “These are very special,” she told Elijah, “very rare trinkets that can render any magical being powerless, myself included. Jor no doubt put them on Fenrir and then proceeded to beat the hell out of him. My poor boy.”

“Can you removed them?” Elijah asked as he watched her stroke the boy’s curly white hair in that loving, motherly way.

She gave a small grin as she answered, “Of course.”

Immediately the shackles were on the ground with a loud, echoing clank. Almost as quickly did the young man awaken, as if reviving from a sleeping spell. He blinked rapidly and groaned, before his eyes widened in relief at the sight of his mother before him.

“Mama!” Fenrir shouted, throwing his arms around her tightly. His wounds upon his pale skin were healing instantly, as he held her and she held him. “Oh, it was terrible, Mama! Jor, the bastard, cornered me on the way to meet Hel and clamped those horrid shackles on me, only it drag me here to beat me into submission - which I didn’t give him, much to ire.” He pulled back and looked proudly at Eternity. “I will never let Jor or anyone else turn me against you,” he cupped her face in his hands with an adoring gaze. “Hel and I will always be your greatest champions, no matter what.”

Eternity took his hands in hers and pulled them from her face gently, holding onto them tightly. “I know, my darling,” she said softly. “You are a brave boy, my brave boy.”

Fenrir grinned at his mother, before Elijah’s shifting behind her caught his attention and he looked up at the vampire with wide, mistrusting eyes.

Elijah smiled gently in the most nonthreatening way he could manage. He found the boy fascinating, quite frankly. He really was a male version of Eternity. He had all the same ethereal paleness, though to a lesser degree like his sister. His hair was a curly mop top of white hair and he had the same big sapphire eyes she did, along with the exact plushly rose pink lips too. He was small like his mother too, but certainly broader. His voice was deeper, yet soft spoken just like Eternity’s as well.

Yes, a male version indeed.

“Are you the Earth-based immortal whom will be marrying my mother, I’ve heard so much about?” Fenrir asked him cautiously.

“I am. My name is Elijah Mikaelson,” nodded Elijah. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Fenrir got up from the chair with his mother’s help and approached him slowly. “You are a product of dark magic, a violent creature with much blood upon your hands,” he said, in a slow, hypnotized sort of way, reading the vampire’s mind. “However, you detest the violence, reserving it for your enemies, including those whom would harm your loved ones. You are the devoted sort of monster. I can certainly see that you are completely devoted to my mother, a fact that truly matters to me, which is why I welcome you, sir, to our humble little family.” He grinned and held out his hand to Elijah.

He clasped hands with the young immortal readily, glad to see that this son was actually quite sane, as well as kind and accepting of him. “Thank you for your acceptance of me,” said Elijah. “I do hope that we get along splendidly.”

“Of that I have no doubt,” Fenrir nodded.

Eternity came to stand beside Elijah, taking his hand in hers with her fingers threading through his. She smiled adoringly up at his and then at her son. “Come along, son. Let’s get you out of here and somewhere safe.”

“Actually, I should go meet Hel,” her son replied. “I’m recovered enough from Jor’s tricks to get to her. She’s probably wondering where I am and with her, I shall be safe.”

The enteral woman nodded, “Aye, you’re right. You should. Your sister is a worrier. She’ll send a search party after you, if you don’t show up to greet her.”

With that said and one final farewell between parent and child, the younger immortal vanished from the warehouse, leaving Elijah and Eternity alone together.

The ethereal woman turned to him and smiled, “Thank you for coming with me. I apologize for our evening being hijacked by my out of control son. I’m sure Jor left quite the impression into the family you will be entering, my darling.”

He smiled back and brushed her hair back from her face as he replied, “I’ll follow you anywhere, Sweetheart, and your family is no more crazy than my own, so I am not scared off at all. As to the evening, the night is still young. We should probably get back to the club. We did leave a Kol and Davina behind. They might be wondering what became of us.”

She kissed his lips briefly and agreed, “Aye, we did. Besides I wasn’t quite done dancing the night away with you, my love.” She gazed at him flirtatiously.

Elijah smirked, pulling Eternity to him bodily and plundering her mouth with his own until she was moaning and clinging to him. Then he pulled back, before he got too lost to his never ending passion, and rested his forehead against hers.

From there, without a word, he whisked them away back to the club to find Kol and Davina back inside, being merry together with the rest of the patrons, as if the threat of Jor hadn’t ever happened. The club was in full swing as if nothing amiss had happened. Typical of the supernatural community, Elijah supposed.

“Well, it seems we weren’t missed,” Eternity quipped good naturally, unpin their reentry.

“No, but I’m not all that surprised,” he replied as he held up his hand for her to take. “Shall we, Sweetheart?”

She beamed, “We shall.”

Then upon her taking his hand, Elijah lead them back into the fray, where they joined his brother and Davina in their merriment on the dance floor, into the wee hours of morning.

**To Be Continued....**


	20. Into the Forest +18

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

************

Two and a half weeks went by swiftly, before Elijah and Eternity found themselves on a plane heading for Japan. In that time, they had made all the preparations for their upcoming wedding, including sending out invitations both locally and intergalactically, as well as asking Kaname to perform the wedding ceremony for them. Eternity had done the latter by popping over to her cousin’s shrine via instant teleportation to speak on the matter in person. Then she popped back to the loft with the other woman’s answer within a relatively short time.

As his lady had predicted, Kaname had wanted to meet him before the wedding. Whatever reasons she had for making such a request, Elijah sensed that it was for more than a standard first meeting with him. Eternity’s cousin had also invited them to stay with her at her shrine, so that they could help her in finishing the preparations for their wedding day. It was an understandable request since prepping such a grand ceremony took a lot of work, even for immortals like them. Because of these reasons, they had agreed to come to Japan ahead of the actual wedding for Elijah to meet this elusive cousin and to put the final touches on their wedding.

Speaking of final touches, Elijah had met with his family at the Mikaelson compound as he had told Kol he would before they parted for Japan and told them of Eternity grand plan to turn those that were immortal into a different sort of one, one more akin to those amongst the stars. He also spoke of making the non-immortals into stronger versions of themselves, telling all of them that if they were to become tied to Eternity through his matrimony to her, then they all needed to be upgraded.

Rebekah told Elijah that his lady was absolutely mad for wanted to make their dysfunctional family even stronger, more invulnerable, for fear that some of their siblings would take the power and run with it.

In response, he told her of how Eternity’s magic would rewrite the dark one that flowed through them, making the natural balance that gave them certain afflictions null and void, including the inability to procreate. He avoided her rather vocal concerns about the potential negative consequences to upgrading their siblings, particularly Kol and Niklaus. He chose not to try and concern himself with that, wanting to believe that his chaotic brothers had changed enough to not be totally irresponsible with Eternity’s gift.

At the ability to procreate news, Elijah’s baby sister had changed her tune and suddenly became all for the new versions of their family. As he predicted, Rebekah wept joyfully at the hope his lady’s gift to them gave her. Kol and Davina were overjoyed by the prospect of having a family too, as were Finn and Sage, surprisingly.

It had been a beautiful moment, one that he would remember always.

“How are you feeling about becoming Mrs. Elijah Mikaelson?” Elijah asked Eternity as they climbed down from the private plane, having just arrived in Japan.

“I feel elated,” she answered readily with a smile. “Though it will take some getting used to having a surname. It is not a common practice amongst the immortals. Not that I am opposed, of course. I look forward to being called Eternity Mikaelson from now on very much.” She took his hand in hers and kissed the back of it, covering it afterwards with her other hand as they reached the waiting car Elijah had arranged for them to take to the Kirin Shrine, home of Kaname.

He smiled lovingly at her as he escorted her into the back of the car and then went around to the other side and gracefully climbed in to join her. The driver was already aware of where they weregoing, having prepared the pickup ahead of time, and so, he didn’t have to concern himself with anything but the woman beside him.

Elijah found he was restless in his excitement of the fact that in just a few more days they would be tying the knot, at last. He couldn’t barely contain himself, an unusual phenomenon to be sure, since he was a master of control. However, he knew that after they said ‘I do’, Eternity would be his forever and nothing, not even death could tear them apart once that happened.

Feeling rather amorous in his happiness to soon be calling the ether beauty his wife, Elijah pulled his bride-to-be into his side and while cupping the back of her head, he devoured her mouth with his own. His tongue invaded Eternity’s mouth hungrily and he reveled in the sweetness he found there. He greatly enjoyed kissing her, taking every opportunity to do so.

However, it quickly became not enough. He wanted more. He’d been wanting more the whole plane ride to the foreign land, but had shown restraint then, in an attempt to keep his head about him in face with his rapture of what was to soon come. However, in typical fashion, his control withered faster the more he tried to hold back from his lady, until he could bear it no longer.

“Come here, Sweetheart,” Elijah practically growled, as he pulled her further to him so that she was forced to straddle his lap.

She went willingly, cupping his face in her hands once she was seated upon him and kissing him for all he was worth. Her mouth soon moved from his and trailed over his cheek, then down his neck. All the while her little hands began to loosen his tie and unbutton his collar to gain more access to his skin. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one feeling amorous.

While her mouth was busy driving him mad with want, Elijah decided to repay Eternity in kind. She wore a shorter dress than usual and that allowed him to gain access to her hidden depths between her legs better than her long flowing ones. His hand reached beneath her skirts and his fingertips brushed over the slick wetness he found there.

Eternity pulled her mouth from his throat to moan into the air and then she stared down at him with a fiery gaze, wild and untamed. Her mouth found his immediately and her hips rocked into his touch between her legs. He swiftly slipped two digits inside her warmth, pumping them quickly in time with her movements as they kissed hotly.

“Not enough,” his lady eventually groaned against his mouth.

Her hands immediately went for his pants, undoing them hastily with expertise. Once she had them open, one hand reached inside to stroke his hardened length eagerly. Her touch caused Elijah to groan and then growl needfully, his own hand moving faster between her legs.

“More, Elijah,” Eternity gasped over him, speaking desperately. “Please, I need more.”

Before she was even done begging did Elijah have her on her back across the backseat of the rather roomy car, with him looming over her. Her legs were wrapped tightly around his waist and her skirts were hiked up around her own, exposing her center to him.

All the while his mouth kissed hers passionately, before moving down along her face, jaw, and throat. High strung on the drug that was Eternity, he wasted no time at all in pushing his clothes out of the way just enough to join their bodies with one hard thrust.

His lady cried out into the cab of the car, the sound reverberating around it. Her hand clung tightly to the back of Elijah’s neck upon the feeling of his sudden intrusion, as did her walls around his cock. Even her legs tightened around his waist.

He groaned into the crook of Eternity’s neck, his eyes screwed shut against the wonderful feeling of her wrapped around him so completely. His hands glide down to grip her hips as he began to move rapidly, thrusting in and out with a merciless pace. His need for her blinded him, turning him wild as he plunged into her depths over and over again.

The immortal queen didn’t seem to mind, thrusting upwards to meet him thrust for thrust, until they were both lost to their desire for the other. He reached between their bodies and began to play her clit as he would an instrument, taking her higher. Eternity chanted his name repeatedly all the while, as she held onto him, unable to do much else.

Since this moment was all about passion, Elijah didn’t bother to hold back or take his time. No, this was a time of raw need, nothing more. Therefore, it wasn’t long at all before he was tumbling over the edge of completion; though he made sure that he took his lady with him, listening to her practically scream in orgasm, as they came together.

As Eternity’s walls clamped down upon him, impulse took Elijah as he let his vampire visage come forth and sank his fangs into her neck to feed upon that sweet, powerful blood of hers - as he always did periodically. He pulled the crimson liquid from his lover greedily, feeling her gasp and writhe wantonly against him and then cry out as a second orgasm took her from his feeding upon her. Her body bowed beneath his own from the powerfulness of it, making him fill with male pride from being able to cause such a reaction in her.

After a time, when he had his fill of her blood, he disengaged from her neck. He watched with mild interest as the puncture wounds healed almost immediately upon releasing the flesh from his mouth. Unable to resist, Elijah licked up the stray bits of blood left behind, suckling at the skin of her throat greedily.

Then he pulled back further to gaze into Eternity’s euphoric face. She had that drunken look about her, as she always did whenever he fed from her. She giggled happily as she traced his jaw with her fingertips, making him grin at her silliness and kiss her lips with chaste tenderness.

Only a few minutes later and Elijah was removing himself from her embrace completely, moving back into a seated position on the other side of the car, where he had started. He did his best to put himself back together in the relatively cramped space, while his lady sat up and curled into his side, kissing his cheek and neck lazily.

Elijah smiled happily at her show of affection, putting his arm around her tenderly and pulling her closer to him. He kissed the top of her head, while he held her, feeling nothing but love for the woman that was about to become his wife.

“Wow! Are you two quite done back there?”

Immediately the tender moment was ruined as the two of them were alerted to the familiar voice in the front passenger seat of the car.

“Fenrir?” Eternity called in surprise.

Sure enough, her young son was sitting in the front with the driver. He looked back with a sheepish grin at his mother and the Original. “Hello, Mama,” he nodded. “Elijah.”

“What are you doing here?” Elijah’s lady asked, with a bit of mortification at the idea of her son having just witnessed their intimacy in the backseat of the car. “You’re supposed to be coming to two days time with your sister!”

“I know, I know, but I grew too restless with Hel and her ward,” Fenrir replied. “I so wanted to see Cousin Kaname again. It has been an age since last we were together. I just couldn’t wait to be back at the shrine, so I thought I’d surprise you, Mama, thinking it wouldn’t be a problem. Then I saw -.”

“You don’t need to speak of it,” his mother responded quickly, sighing exasperatedly before gazing at Elijah, whom was rather amused by this turn of events.

He grinned slightly as he gazed between the annoyed mother and bashful son. “While I have no issue in your coming along with us,” he said to Fenrir, “and I’m sure it is the same with your mother, perhaps a quick word of your desire to join us would have been a better route, instead of simply popping in unannounced. Maybe a bit more planning and less impulse next time, yes?”

“Yes, sir,” the younger immortal replied. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

The male version of Eternity turned around in his seat then and remained quiet for the rest of the trip to Kyoto, to the forests of Mount Kurama where the Kirin Shrine was located.

Elijah and Eternity exchanged looks in the meantime, before breaking into smiles and quiet laughs over the whole incident. From there, they fell into a companionable silence, filled with gentle kisses and sweet touches, as if they hadn’t just made wild love in the back seat or been caught by Fenrir doing so.

The car ride was long, but soon the duo turned trio finally reached the forest entrance to the Kirin Shrine. The car couldn’t take them to the front door since the woodland was dense and didn’t have a suitable road going through it. This meant they had to walk the rest of the way, using the natural trails that would lead them to their destination.

Eternity didn’t mind. Elijah’s lady seemed to be the most happy amongst the trees of the forest, taking in the sights and smells with delight. Surely the dense foliage called to her truest self: the unicorn that she was. Gazing at her son, Elijah noted that it seemed the wilderness called to her son as well - to the giant wolf that he had been cursed to transform into long ago.

The Original enjoyed the forest too. Being amongst the natural world reminded him of his childhood, in a time when man was still living within the protections of the forest instead of tearing them down to build great cities. He recalled running and playing inside of the woods of Mystic Falls with his siblings, enjoying the innocent of a child’s life - carefree and unburdened by the cruelties of the world.

The trek was rather long, but none of them were in a great hurry to reach the shrine. Fenrir walked ahead of Elijah and Eternity, while the couple strolled behind him, holding hands and took in the peace of the greenery around them.

Then the peaceful stroll was disrupted about half way to the shrine, as another ghost from Elijah’s past appeared.

“Hello, Elijah,” called the familiar accented voice - Aya?

The trio halted immediately in their walk and turned to find Aya Al-Rashid, another of Elijah’s old flames standing there amongst the trees, just off the path. Fenrir growled like a threatened wolf at her presence, while Elijah and Eternity grew tense at the new apparition’s sudden appearance.

Nothing good was to come from this encounter.

“Off to get married, are we?” Aya said as she slowly approached. “I would offer my congratulations on this joyous occasion, but that would mean I’d have to pretend to be happy for your happiness, Elijah. Something that I simply cannot do.”

“What are you doing here, Aya?” Elijah questioned, unsurprised to see her after having seen Céleste on more than one occasion. He noticed how the ghostly woman eyed Eternity and instinctually put himself in front of his lady to protect her. He growled warningly, “What is it that you want?”

“I am here on a mission from beyond the grave to ensure you never reach your destination,” the dark-skinned beauty grinned.

Immediately did growling, hissing creatures come out of the foliage of the forest all around them. There were droves of them, these little bloodthirsty demons. All around they came until Elijah, his lady, and her son were surrounded.

“Consider this my wedding gift unto you,” Aya said, just as Eternity and Fenrir both disappeared suddenly from Elijah’s side and the demons began to attack him full force. “Your much deserved demise, Elijah Mikaelson.”

Then in the chaos of the attack, the apparition of his former disappeared without a trace, leaving him to deal with the creatures that had already proven to be too strong for he to destroy. Elijah felt helpless and panicked at the loss of Eternity and by extension, Fenrir. He didn’t know what Aya had done with them, but he feared the worst.

Yet, he had little time to concern himself with their whereabouts, as he just tried to stay alive against the little monsters that leapt at him, clawing and biting at him. He managed to evade their desired damage to his person, but knew he wouldn’t be able to hold them off forever. He needed a plan or better yet, help.

Luckily, fortune smiled upon him as it turned out, as a spiritual arrow came flying by out of nowhere and struck one of the demons that attacked Elijah. Then another and another and another still, until all the demons were nothing more than piles of burning flesh that eventually turned to dust.

He turned in the direction the arrows had come from and saw another Eternity lookalike standing a little ways off with her yumi bow still in firing position. This must have been his lady’s cousin Kaname.

She was dressed as a miko, a shrine maiden or priestess. She wore a white haori and bright red hakama with thonged sandals. She was pale like Eternity with all the same colorings, though her hair was waist length and was not wavy, but straight without curls. She kept it tied back with two locks forming rings framing her face that tied into the ribbon she used to keep her hair out if the way. Her sapphire eyes were also more narrow and not as doe-like.

Worried for Eternity and Fenrir, Elijah raced over to where the miko stood. “You must be Kaname,” he said in greeting, once he reached her.

“Yes, and you must be Elijah Mikaelson, my cousin’s fiancé,” she replied, with a slight Japanese accent. “My queen has told me about you, upon her pervious visit to my shrine.”

“Eternity, she has been spirited away, along with Fenrir,” he responded hurriedly with worry evident in his voice. “Tell me that you can get them back, from wherever they were sent to. I fear for them. There has been sinister things happening as of late. Please tell me that you can rescue them.”

Kaname smiled, unperturbed by what he told her, “Do not worry about my cousin or her young son, Mr. Mikealson. Her Majesty is the strongest amongst the immortals and whatever trick has been played upon her will surely be dismantled shortly. She shall meet us soon with Fenrir at the Kirin Shrine.” She turned to head back the way she came, leaving Elijah to stand puzzled by her nonchalance and her confidence in her prediction. “Come along. This way please,” she gestured for him to go with her.

That prompted the Original to follow his lady’s cousin through the forest, unsure of what else to do. He could only hope that the miko was right and Eternity would be safely returned to him, along with her son - and soon.

Elijah needed to know Eternity was safe and unharmed or else he’s never forgive himself.

**To Be Continued....**


	21. While Waiting

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

************

The Kirin Shrine was a well hidden place, deep within the forests of Mount Kurama. There was a great, long staircase that lead up the modest place of worship that doubled as Kaname’s home, and at the top of the stairs was the large red torii gate that one had to pass through to get to the shrine. Beyond that was the water basin where worshipers would purify themselves before going on to the main building of the shrine to pray to the gods.

Though this was the traditional use of a Shinto shrine, Kaname’s home wasn’t quite a place of worship. No, that was only a cover. Instead, Eternity’s cousin secretly helped the desperate, whom dared to make the long and dangerous journey to the shrine, in order to ask her, sometimes plead with her, to heal their illnesses or even resurrect their dead. The latter was something that the miko reserved for any children brought to her by grieving parents, who took a great risk to even bring the corpses to the Kirin Shrine.

Kaname told Elijah all this as they climbed the stone steps to the shrine, but he was rather distracted by the loss of his lady to the unknown. She was missing, out there somewhere, beyond his reach and it killed him to be so helpless to aid her, to even find her. He found it was difficult to breathe, not knowing where Eternity was or if she was in need of him.

Yet, her cousin remained completely unfazed by her unknown plight. She was ever confident that the immortal queen would be back soon, unharmed and victorious against whatever or whomever had taken her.

“Do not worry, Mr. Mikaelson,” Kaname reiterated once they had reached the top of the stairs and were heading to the main house. “You will see your lady soon.”

“How do you know?” He asked her softly.

Kaname turned back to grin at him, “Because I have bore witness to Her Majesty’s might a time or two. I have seen with my own eyes, just what she is capable of - the wonders she can achieve. I have faith in her abilities, as should you, sir, especially if you truly love her.”

“I do love her,” he said defensively.

“Then have faith,” she responded quickly. “Besides, this turn of events gives us a chance to speak. I wish to ensure you are nothing like the last husband. I won’t let my cousin make the same mistake twice.” A dark scowl crossed her face briefly, before it faded away as swiftly as it came as she looked back at him.

Elijah shoved his hands into his pants pockets at Kaname’s pointed look of which she then gave him. He didn’t like the idea of being thought of as being similar or the same as Loki. He was nothing like that maddened fool, whom no doubt was responsible for Eternity’s disappearing act just now. That was what worried him the most - that she was at the Trickster’s mercy.

“To begin, let me say that even before Eternity told me, I knew who you were, Mr. Mikaelson,” Kaname told him in all seriousness. “I have heard the tales of the Originals; the bloodbaths, the killings, the mayhem, the destruction. Though much of that is contributed to your siblings, you are certainly not innocent; killing, maiming, torturing whomever dares to threaten your family or who is a means to an end for whatever reason you deem necessary.

“You are as cruel and monstrous as your more notorious siblings, particularly Niklaus Mikaelson. Yet, you pretend to be of civility with your suits and your candor. Surely, my cousin has seen all this, but she still fell in love with you. Why is that?”

Elijah’s eyes narrowed on the miko, unsure as to where she was going with her words.

“Ah, I know,” she carried on with a smile. “There is a measure of light in you, buried beneath the darkness of your monstrous ways. Like your siblings, there is a chance for redemption, for change - to be better than you are. Instead of remaining creatures of darkness, you lot can rise into the light and use the burden of being made into vampires for good.

“Yes, you are capable of great evil, but like every creature, there is also a capability for good. That is what drawn her to you, Mr. Mikaelson. My cousin saw the possibility for a better life for you, under her guidance, through her love. She understood that the monster was just one part of you and that there was more to you than the cold-blooded killer, who will protect his family, no matter the cost or who has to die.”

“You have heard a lot and haven’t doubt just scrolled through my mind for the rest of your information. So what is your point, if you don’t mind me asking?” Elijah finally interjected.

Kaname shrugged and then grinned, “My point is that despite your faults, your past, your darker nature, you are certainly better than that madman Loki.” She gestured for him to follow her, “Come along, sir, and you can regale me with the epic love story between yourself and my cousin. It’ll pass the time until your lady returns.”

Not seeing he had any other choice, Elijah followed the priestess into her house, after he had taken off his shoes at the door as was custom, of course. He sat in the common room with her while she prepared some tea magically. They sat on the floor with a low set table between them. It was very much in the tradition of Japanese hospitality, as was to be expected from someone whom lived there, presumably for their entire lives.

Elijah told her everything that had happened since Eternity’s arrival into his life a decade ago. He told her about the reason for their meeting, along with their first chat at that little diner in that sleepy town in Maine. He spoke of how awestruck he had been by her very presence, of the ethereal glow and the way all stopped to stare at her shining grace. He told Kaname of how quickly he fell for her, and how she returned his affections in kind. He spoke of Niklaus and his little brother’s alliance with Loki, how Eternity had persuaded him to help his brother in his attempts to squash a witch rebellion.

The Original told of the road trip across the American country, of the boy they saved, of the Blood Rose Club, of the kind Mitchells, and everything in between. He also told her of the end, of Eternity leaving him at that Californian hotel in fear for his safety against Loki, who had chased after them all the way, on their journey - along with Niklaus.

From there, Elijah emotionally spoke of the decade of misery without Eternity. He told Kaname how he felt lifeless, how it had been difficult to even breathe, how he grew darker, more vicious, colder. He told of his attempts to move on, but it had been impossible. Speaking of these things made his current worry for Eternity all the worse.

“I can’t lose her again,” he said to Kaname when the story had concluded, whom had been patiently listening to his tale all the while. “Eternity is my other half, almost literally. I need her like I’ve never needed another.”

Before the miko could respond, another figure showed up.

“Well, isn’t that touching,” called Aya from the doorway, setting both Elijah and Kaname on guard. “It seems I miscalculated and intervened too late to put you down for good back there, Elijah. It must be wonderful to have such friends in high places.” She gazed indifferently at Kaname briefly, before returning her eyes unto him.

Elijah was on his feet immediately, feeling rather vengeful at the sight of his old flame - the very one that was responsible for his lady’s disappearance, and that of Fenrir. “Where are Eternity and Fenrir?” He growled. “If you do not tell me -.”

Aya laughed cruelly, “You’ll what? Kill me? A little late, I think. Though, it wasn’t your by hand that I met my most welcomed end, but Hayley’s. All because you didn’t have the gall to do it yourself, if I recall.”

He glared at the apparition, just as Kaname came to stand beside him.

“You do not belong here, evil spirit,” the miko said calmly, with authority. “Be gone!”

Aya didn’t disappear upon her words. In fact, the ghostly figure only smiled at her, “The thing is, you are not the only one with friends in high places. I too have allies with greater power than anyone on Earth.”

“...Loki,” ground out Elijah, knowing exactly who she was working for.

The spirit didn’t seem very surprised that he already knew to whom she referred. In fact, she looked knowingly smug. “Yes, and if you do not renounce this marriage, I fear my associate will have no choice, but to inform the madman Bruno where he can find his prize - the young Hope Mikaelson. Surely the powerful tribrid will be here in a few days time, yes? For the happy occasion of matrimony? If you don’t give your precious Eternity up, your latest foe will descend upon your niece and take her power, as he has done to many others of this world, once she is outside the protection of the Underground Agency.”

Elijah’s hands tightened at his sides, as did his jaw, as he tried to control the rage that he felt at not only the threat to his young niece, but to his relationship with Eternity. He wanted to lash out in a blind fury, but he was a master of control and he managed to keep himself in check.instead he relaxed and gave Aya an unamused smile. He kept his hands in his pants pockets to hide the signs of his anger.

“You are wasting your breath, if you think that threats are going to be enough to tear Eternity and I apart, dearest Aya,” he responded coolly. “You’ll have to kill me, before I’d ever give her up.”

There was an unreadable expression that crossed the dark woman’s face at his firm declaration, before it vanished quickly. “I figured you would say that,” she said bitterly. “You always were a fool when in love.”

Just then, the apparition moved to attack.

Fortunately, Elijah didn’t have to worry about countering her, as a spiritual arrow flew through Aya’s chest from behind. The ghostly woman looked down at the arrow, just as it burst into bright blue flames, and disintegrated the apparition quickly until she was no more. 

It was then that the Original could see Eternity standing across the yard with her yumi bow still in firing position. She looked battered and bruised, her clothes torn and he could see the glistening wetness of crimson blood upon her side. She lowered her weapon with heaving breathes, before she collapsed, only to be caught by Fenrir who came into view beside her.

The younger immortal looked nearly as bad as his mother, battered and bruised as well; though he seemed otherwise unharmed. The boy lifted Eternity into his arms as she fell unconscious and carried her across the yard to the shrine.

“What the hell happened?” Elijah demanded worriedly for them both, as Fenrir moved past him into the common room of the shrine.

“What do you think? My father happened,” Fenrir responded crossly as he lay Eternity down on the tatami mats. “My poor mother,” he murmured to the unconscious queen.

“Explain,” the vampire quietly requested of the lad.

Eternity’s son sighed, as his sapphire eyes looked up at Elijah from where he was crouched beside her. “My father had us sent into the afterworld, where he met us and then proceeded to torment us both. All the while, he spoke maddeningly about the wrongs done unto him and how he was going to make my mother suffer for these perceived slights,” Fenrir sounded almost bored when he said this, as if it were nothing new. Perhaps it wasn’t.

“He tortured me for fun first, just because I’m an easy target, and then my father proceeded to abuse her, right in front of me,” The male mirror of Eternity carried on with quiet disgust and anger as he spoke of what his father did. “At one point, he even tried to rape my mother, when she wouldn’t be broken by the insistence that she belonged to him still, or the accusations of betrayal, or the assault of which she actively stood against! He tried to hold her down, tried to prove his dominion over her.”

Fenrir paused to take a breath, before continuing, “He’s vile, but fortunately, even in the spirit world, my mother triumphs. He didn’t get far, before she broke through his spell and escaped with me in tow.” He gave a proud smirk at the end, before the anger set back in at his father’s actions.

Elijah shared in the younger immortal’s anger. While he had dealt with threats against his family from Aya, Eternity had dealt with unspeakable terrors at the hand of a man that she had once loved, that she had used to call ‘husband’. How could any person, man or woman, treat someone they supposedly care for like that? How far had Loki fallen into his own darkness, to not see the great evil he was doing unto the woman he said he loved?

But that was just it, wasn’t it? The Trickster didn’t love her. He couldn’t. Not anymore, at least. It wasn’t regaining love that Loki was after, but regaining control over her. And in his jealous quest to regain that of which he lost, the bastard was also attempting to intimidate him with apparitions of his past lovers whom he wronged, trying to get him away from Eternity by threatening his family and his own life.

Like hell he would give her up! Never again, would he!

For hours, Elijah stayed by Eternity’s side, waiting for her to wake. Her wounds had healed, though they had seemed to take longer to do so. In this, Kaname had explained that this was due to being a corporal being in the world of the spirits. The body healed from a spirit’s attack slower because of the different kind of energy in the afterworld.

Then, just as the sun was setting for the night, the immortal queen finally stirred into consciousness. She sighed and blinked, raising a hand to her forehead as she took in her surroundings. She turned her head after a moment of getting her bearings and saw Elijah sitting there with her, a relieved smile upon his face.

“Elijah?” Eternity said hoarsely, as if she didn’t believe he was really there, despite having been the one to save him from Aya.

He beamed down at her, taking a hand and brushing back her hair from her face, before cupping her cheek tenderly. “Yes, it’s me,” he replied softly.

Immediately, Eternity sat up and threw herself at him, practically climbing into his lap with her arms wound tightly around his neck, holding onto him for dear life. “Oh, Elijah. It was terrible,” she muttered against his throat, as he wrapped his arms around her protectively; one hand around her waist and the other cupping the back of her head as he held her to him.

“Shhh, you don’t have to tell me,” he whispered into her hair. “Fenrir already told me what happened. I’m just sorry that I wasn’t there to protect you from Loki.”

She lifted her head and smiled gently at him. “Don’t be sorry. There is nothing to apologize for,” she murmured to him, as she rested her forehead against his cheek. “It is my own past foolishness at fault here. Nothing more.”

Elijah continued to hold Eternity, sharing in a tormented silence with her. No doubt she relived the trauma, while he craved the strength to truly protect his lady from all threats. It was becoming even more imperative that they marry or rather that they preform the higher order ceremony, so that he could have the strength to guard his bride from the evil that plagued her.

“Elijah,” Eternity whispered to him, catching his attention.

He looked down into her sapphire eyes that shone with such love for him, despite her recent terrors. Nothing could break their bond, not Loki, not his past lovers, not time nor distance - nothing, he knew. They were always and forever.

With those confirming thoughts running in his head, the Original’s mouth descended upon Eternity’s with all he felt poured into his kiss. She clung to him as he devoured her mouth, with his tongue diving into the warm cavern to taste her sweetness desperately. He had been so worried for her and now he felt an immense relief that she was alright, that she was battered a bit, but safe. Things heated quickly between them as a result of high strung emotions they were both feeling at the moment.

“Hey, easy you two,” called Kaname from the doorway, with mild amusement.

Instantaneously was the seductive spell upon the couple broken, as Eternity tore her mouth from his to look at her cousin bashfully. “Kaname, hello,” she said in greeting.

“Hello, my queen,” the miko bowed in response, before she straightened and moved further into the room. “I am glad to see you are well again. It seems you have had quite the trying time, but at least, you are now safe and sound.”

The ethereal beauty tried to move off of Elijah’s lap, but he held on firmly, not letting her escape his embrace. “Elijah...,” she chastised quietly with an adorable grin, it which he simply smirked and refused to let her leave his hold.

“You two really are in love,” Eternity’s cousin observed with a tender smile. “It is quite beautiful to see. However...,” she trailed off, a firmer expression etching itself upon her face.

That caught the vampire’s attention, “However?”

Kaname came over to sit across from them with her legs folded neatly beneath her and her hands folded just as neatly in her lap. “However,” she began, “for the next three days until the wedding ceremony, you’re interactions will have to remain chaste. That means no intimacy of any kind.”

“Wha - I don’t understand,” Elijah stared dumbfounded.

Eternity stepped in to explain, “My love, it is a...family tradition. The act of sex between a newly married husband and wife is considered sacred, not just to my family, but to many of the immortal peoples. Therefore, it is a custom that there be a period of celibacy between the couple getting married to represent the purity of and respect to the union. This trial usually lasts longer than a few days, but the idea is to make the wedding night more special, more meaningful, I suppose. It’s silly really.”

“It is not silly, Cousin,” Kaname replied insistently, before he could respond. “You are the Universal Queen. It is necessary to follow at least some of the ancient traditions as it does not reflect well for the head of the kingdom to ignore the things that many of her people hold in high regard, especially her own family. You will follow this one premarital tradition or else I will not bless this union, and from what I understand of your situation, you do not have the time for hinderances.”

“Are you threatening me, Cousin?” The queen responded, with a twinge of amusement.

Without missing a beat, the miko nodded, “Yes, I am.”

Eternity blinked at her and then looked at Elijah, who looked back at her with consent to this ritual. With that, she rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “Very well. As you command, my lady,” she said to Kaname, a hint of mocking in her sweet voice.

“Good,” Eternity’s cousin gave another curt nod. “Now, you’re probably hungry. Fenrir has been preparing a meal for you. If you will, come sit.”

Elijah finally let go of the ethereal beauty and allowed her to leave his side to sit at the low set table. He watched as her dirty, torn clothes shifted and changed into a beautiful white kimono with a deep purple obi and deep purple flowers printed on the sleeves and hem of the brilliant white fabric. Her hair also shifted and changed from flowing freely into a braided bun at the back of her head, as she sat at the table.

She was stunning in these traditional wears, and the very sight stirred up his desire for her, as did her very presence. He wanted her at all times, regardless of what she wore or how she looked. Because of his insatiability, Elijah simply didn’t know how he was going to managed abstaining from taking her as he pleased for the next three days, when that was all he wanted to do. Especially after their most recent trying time.

Someone needed to pray for him....

**To Be Continued....**


	22. The Tormented Vampire +18

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

************

As Elijah predicted, abstaining from intimacy had been extremely difficult, especially since he hadn’t a need to hold back from his desires in the past. It was like having an addiction and trying to quit said addiction cold turkey verses doing so gradually. It was nearly impossible to do, even with impeccable control over oneself. And he had flawless control.

The first day had been particularly unbearable, but only because of the trauma he and Eternity had both faced just the day befriend. He had wanted her close, wanted her intimacy, to comfort them both, but with Kaname’s rule, they were forced to only give each other innocent touches and chaste kisses. These had been all fine and well, but he craved more. A feeling made worse as that night, they were also forced into separate chambers for rest.

The second day had been much like the first, their interactions had been chaste and innocent to the point of driving Elijah to madness. Though, he did well in his management of keeping up appearances, keeping his inner torment masked behind his typical cool and collective exterior. Despite this act, however, he couldn’t help but to steal more kisses from his lady than usual and to give her seemingly innocent touches with hidden meaning every chance he got, whenever Kaname was otherwise occupied. It was their hidden language, their secret way of communicating their mutual desire for the other, while adhering to the priestess’s rules.

By the third day, the eve of their wedding, Elijah found himself a mess of need, joy, and excitement. Things that he couldn’t not share with his bride-to-be. The magically inclined Eternity kept herself busy with preparing the shrine for the wedding the following morning, before everyone started coming in from the other side of the world, along with Kaname and Fenrir. This left him to wander the grounds in a fitful ball of energy, praying for a distraction from all the pent up emotions welling up inside that he hadn’t a satisfactory release for.

Fortunately, his saving distraction came when his siblings began to arrive at the shrine. First it was Rebekah and Marcel with Kol and Davina. Then Finn and Sage with Freya and Keelin. Finally, Niklaus and Hayley arrived with young Hope soon after his older brother and sister. The reunion between Niklaus, Hayley, Hope with everyone else had been something to celebrate and certainly took Elijah’s mind off his struggles to abstain from his need for intimacy with Eternity.

He spent his time with his whole reunited family, a joy in itself. Everyone was curious to know how life under the mysterious Underground Agency had been for the hybrid couple and their daughter since they rarely communicated due to the safety measures in place for their daughter.

Niklaus spoke of intense training that he and Hayley had gone through as per the upcoming higher order ritual Eternity wished to perform, getting a head start on everyone else in that department. Even Hope had gone through rigorous teachings to make herself stronger as a Mikaelson witch.

“I never knew my true potential until I went to the Agency,” Elijah’s brother told him and their siblings. “I am a whole new creature already and I cannot wait to see how much further my future sister-in-law’s spell will take me, my wife and child, and all of you, of course. We shall all be of a new breed of being in this world.”

“I still think it is a terrible idea to let you have more power, Niklaus,” Finn piped up in that cynical way of his. “Same with Kol. The two of you are the most chaotic and monstrous of us. I fear it might be a mistake to allow either of you access to such greater strength, but who am I to question the will of a goddess.”

“Yes, it is a good thing this is not your decision to make, my dear Finn,” Elijah replied with a tight smile, before Niklaus or Kol could respond. “My beloved bride-to-be knows what she is doing. If our more adventurous siblings get too far out of line, I am certain she will put them in their much deserved places. Though something tells me that both shall forever remain on their best behaviors, as neither would want to feel the wrath of the Universal Queen.” He eyed his younger siblings meaningfully.

“Hey, I’m not the murder happy lunatic I was,” Kol defended himself, as he threw an arm around Davina who stood beside him. “I found a reason to temper my violent bloodlust,” he said as he gazed lovingly at the witch.

Niklaus put his hand on his heart with the most serious expression etched upon his face, “I swear to never abuse the powers and strengths granted to me by the gracious and merciful Universal Queen.”

“And you better hold to that vow, Niklaus,” called Eternity suddenly, as she approached the Mikealson clan, coming to stand beside Elijah.

Niklaus nodded to her, “I swear it that I will uphold the vow made, just as I uphold always and forever.”

The well-dressed Original had to shove his hands in his pants pockets to keep from the temptation of whisking her away to do unmentionable things to her, but Elijah still smiled affectionately at her as she touched his arm in affection.

“Have you finished your preparations for tomorrow morning, Sweetheart?” He asked her.

“Aye, we are all set for our wedding,” she replied brightly. “It shall be a splendid affair.”

“Uni!” Shouted Hope as the child caught eye of the immortal queen and came running over to hug Eternity tightly.

“Hope!” The ethereal beauty bent to the girl’s level and embraced her just as tightly, before pulling back and holding the child at arms length. She grinned mischievously as she said, “I have missed you, young one. Come. Run with me!”

Stepping back away from Elijah, Eternity grinned and then changed shape right before all their eyes. With a loud musical sound, the unicorn took the place of the woman and the strange white beast didn’t waste time in racing off toward the woods. Young Hope laughed and went after her, while her family looked on with a mix of wonder, awe, and concern.

They all watched with fascination as the forest seemed to awaken from sleep upon the unicorn’s entrance. The quiet woods transformed into a lively place, bright and beautiful under the power of the mythical creature. It was unlike anything any of them had ever seen, save for Elijah, of course.

There were a lot of sniffles that waffled into the air even after the unicorn had raced off. Elijah’s siblings and their significant others all wiped their eyes of tears that had sprung up, curious and concerned as to why that was happening to them. Elijah felt teary eyed as well, but was certainly more prepared for that automatic reaction to the sight of the unicorn than the others.

“Bloody hell,” Kol said as he scrubbed the tears from his face. “What sorcery is this?”

“It’s not sorcery, just a natural response to seeing a unicorn,” chuckled Elijah, as he took his handkerchief from his jacket pocket and wiped his own eyes. “I’m not sure why it happens, only that it does when faced with the powerful sight of a unicorn.”

Hayley, with a slightly concerned expression as she dabbed her eyes dry, turned to Elijah, “Will Hope be alright out there?”

The older Original nodded, “Yes, she is with Eternity. There is nobody whom can protect her better than the powerful Universal Queen. You have nothing to fear.”

Realizing she was being silly right away, the female hybrid nodded back rapidly, “Yeah, yeah, right. Sorry, it’s just that I’m a little paranoid, I guess, with this Bruno person wanting to take Hope’s powers. I don’t feel very safe being outside of the protection of the Underground Agency, not after all the witch, vampire, and wolf killings that have happened because of that monster.”

“There is nowhere safer than these woods, my dear,” called Kaname suddenly, as she came to greet the newcomers. “That fiendish maniac Bruno wouldn’t dare to try and enter this sacred place. At least, not after what happened the last time he made such an attempt.” She smirked mysteriously. “Dark creatures, like him and some of you lot, are typically not allowed in this holy place, but I made a special exception for you lot, per my cousin’s request. Nothing unholy can penetrate this sacred place without my permission.”

At everyone’s curious looks in face of yet another Eternity clone, Elijah stepped up to introduce the miko, “Everyone, this is Kaname, Eternity’s cousin. She is our gracious host and will be the one to perform the wedding in the morning.”

Greetings were passed around quickly as everyone quickly dismissed the fact that Kaname was very much a clone of Elijah’s bride-to-be, just as Hel was. They were getting used to the idea that there was a strong family resemblance in Eternity’s family.

Speaking of resemblances, Fenrir, the male version of Eternity, soon joined them as well, greeting everyone shyly in an awkward teen sort of way. He came to stand by him, choosing to be close to someone familiar with all the newcomers of whom remained unfamiliar.

From there, everyone settled in. There was talk and celebration of the joyous occasion that was to come in the morning. Elijah felt himself relax a great deal with the distraction of his family. It helped that his lady was elsewhere, far out of his reach, for the time being.

While he had kept occupied with his family, Eternity and Hope had been off on an adventure through the forest and they didn’t return to the shrine until sundown. When they did, Elijah’s niece was covered in dirt and grime, while the unicorn remained untouched by the filth of nature. The child had come back quite happy, giddy in fact, from whatever activities they had gotten themselves into in the hour or so that they had been gone.

Hayley had insisted that Hope take a bathroom seeing her dirty child, which had dampened the girl’s good mood a little. However, Elijah’s niece did as her mother asked and went into the shrine to bathe. Kaname followed them to help out and to also prepare dinner, particularly for the non-vampires amongst the group, whom needed human food to survive.

Niklaus had informed his vampire siblings that he had brought along an ample amount of blood bags for them, supplied to him by the staff at the Underground Agency. Therefore, nobody would need to go hunting in town for sustenance, while they were in Tokyo. It was best not to stir up trouble, Elijah’s brother had said.

That was good, especially for Elijah, whom hadn’t been able to feed off of Eternity during their period of abstinence. He wouldn’t be able to until after their wedding the next day. This was mostly because the temptation to take things further would be too great, if he did, as his lady tended to get off on his feeding from her. The sweet scent of her resulting arousal would drive him to take her completely without hesitation.

So, to adhere by Kaname’s rules, it was best to not even tempt fate by taking her blood. Fortunately, Elijah hadn’t felt the hunger since arriving, after he had fed from Eternity in the back of the car that had brought them to the shrine and had remained subdued thus far. At least, he only had to make it a night more before he could resume feeding from his lady.

Not wanting to let his mind wander to the erotic memories that threaten to come to the forefront of his mind at the mention of the car incident, for the rest of the evening, he continued to occupy himself with the consistent talk amongst his family. In celebratory mode, drinks and laugher were abound as everyone sat down to a delicious dinner, magicked together by Kaname and Fenrir.

Though the shrine was small, there was just enough room to flit everyone around the low set table for dinner. It was a tight fit, but they made do with being in such close quarters. Eternity had returned to her womanly form and sat next to Elijah with her son sitting on the other side of her. Niklaus sat on the other side of himself.

The chatter was pleasant and full of questions about Kaname, such as how old she was and why she continued to live on Earth, despite the laws that had separated the ancient immortals from thethe mortal world. The miko answered all their questions politely with a bit of amusement coloring her voice as she did. Something that reminded Elijah so much of Eternity, as she had that same look upon her face when she had first met his siblings.

The older Original listened with fascination as Kaname explained that she was over ten thousand years old, had lived during Ceres’ time, and had chosen to remain on Earth because it was her home that no other world could replace. Though that wasn’t the on,y reason. She had chosen to dedicate her life to helping mortals whom were desperately in need of divine intervention. She enjoyed humans and want to help them in one way or another, even if she only helped in small individual doses.

Eventually, the meal and conversations wound down. Eternity took the opportunity to excuse herself, heading outside. She cast a glance at Elijah before she did so that was full of hidden meaning.

Curious, Elijah followed, slipping away stealthily as to not arouse Kaname’s suspicious eye. The miko had made it a point to ensure the pair behaved themselves until the wedding; an annoyance, but an understandable one. She had become their designated babysitter during the past few days.

He found his lady standing underneath the torii gate gazing up at the stars that had begun to appear in the darkening sky. Elijah went to her, coming to stand behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. He pulled her back against him with his head against the side of hers. He felt her hand come up and cover his while the other moved to cup the back of his head, holding him there.

“And just why have you come out here, Sweetheart?” He asked her softly.

“I simply wanted to enjoy the nighttime...and I was hoping you would get the hint to follow me,” Eternity replied coyly, the smile evident in her voice. She turned in his embrace and kissed his lips sweetly. “I wanted a moment alone with you. We haven’t had much of that, not with the wedding preparations and Kaname’s insistent hovering. She takes tradition seriously, perhaps too much so.”

Elijah had to agree there. Though with his lady so close, he found it hard to keep his impulsive desires at bay. The struggle returned quickly with her nestled between his arms, her body nearly flush with his own. Perhaps the miko was in the right mind in keeping their interactions to a minimum.

Then Eternity smiled seductively and the Original knew he was in trouble. Her lips were upon his needfully with her arms wound around his neck and her fingers threaded through his hair.

He gave in without hesitation, unable to resist her. He pried her mouth open with his tongue and diving in to taste her throughly. He pressed he closer, wanting to feel her body against his fully in ways he hadn’t been able to in days - ones that he still wouldn’t be able to until the following day.

“You have no idea how much I want you,” he growled against her lips, before resuming his plundering of her mouth.

“I think I do,” Eternity replied breathlessly, once she could will her mouth from his, just as one of her naughty little hands travelled down his front, over his chest to his abdomen to his clothed hardness.

Elijah gasped at the suddenness of her caress, having not anticipated her grabbing him so boldly. Then he hissed as she palmed him through his pants. It was enough to drive him to forget Kaname’s conditions for performing the wedding ceremony and have his bride-to-be as he had been wanting to for days.

Eternity was a bad influence, he concluded, and the chink in his self-control.

“Eternity,” he ground out, as he reigned in his control.

Elijah willed himself to catch her misbehaving hand and pulled it away from his person. His gaze was surely fiery as he stared at her while he lifted the offending hand and kissed the palm tenderly. Then he returned it to it’s place around his neck.

“You are going to be the death of me, I swear it,” he breathed with a wicked grin. “I cannot wait until after our wedding, because then this horrid abstinence period will be over and I shall take great joy in ravaging you completely.”

Eternity shivered pleasurably at his tone of dark promises and smiled. She kissed him with just as much seductive passion as before, while Elijah swore inwardly at her insistence to tempt him, to test him this way. She knew well that he wouldn’t allow for things to go further, no matter how much he wanted to.

Still, Elijah allowed her to kiss him hungrily, letting her taste him as she pleased, before returning her affections tenfold by shoving her tongue out of his mouth and diving into hers with a need like no other. One of his hands wandered over the silkiness of her white and purple kimono, skimming over her breasts, kneading the flesh through the fabric. The other cupped the side of Eternity’s neck, holding her firmly while he plundered her mouth.

Things quickly grew heated all over again and Elijah found himself nearly lost to the passion that burned between them this time. Control be damned.

“Cousin!” Kaname’s stern voice called, snuffing out the passionate fire immediately. “Mr. Mikaelson!”

As the guilty parties turned to face her, the priestess put her hands on her hips, like a parent that had just caught her children doing something they shouldn’t be. She looked very displeased with the little make out session they had been engaged in.

Instantaneously, Eternity pulled away from him and had enough sense to look sheepishly at her cousin, though it was obvious that she didn’t regret their moment together. Meanwhile, Elijah put his hands in his pants pockets and gazed at the older immortal with slight bashfulness and a hint of smugness. He certainly didn’t regret it either. Their moment together had been worth it.

“Forgive me, cousin,” Eternity said with a slight bow of her head, though by her tone, it was obvious she didn’t actually mean it.

“Come inside, right now,” Kaname insisted and then chastised, “You two cannot be left alone. No self-control.”

The couple gazed at each other, before they broke out into smiles and light laughter as they made their way back inside the shrine. The whole while Eternity’s cousin lectured them as they followed her back to the others, where Elijah’s siblings began to tease them for whatever they had gotten themselves in trouble for.

Elijah let their teasingslide off of him, as he found himself too distracted by the woman next to him, as they retook their seats at the low table. He simply couldn’t wait until the following morning, when Eternity would finally be his wife and they could finally start their life together as one unit.

If only morning would hurry up and arrive sooner to put him out of his misery.

**To Be Continued....**


	23. Wedding Bliss +18

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**Author’s Note** : The next chapter shall be the last one! I’m wrapping this fic up! However, there shall be one more installment after this to tie up loose ends, not tied up in Elijah’s Eternity: New Orleans. Don’t forget to check out my other fics too!

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The following morning was very chaotic as everyone got ready for the wedding ceremony. Veren, Hel, and two others of Eternity’s family that Elijah hadn’t met yet had arrived. They were ready to help out wherever they could to move things along, with Veren going to help his bride-to-be and the others going to aid Kaname. Elijah had noticed the newcomers but had been too busy getting ready himself to stop and meet with them. No, introductions would have to wait until after the ceremony it seemed.

The wedding ceremony was to take place at the back of the property, in a clearing of the surrounding forest. The area where everyone would be standing, including bride, groom, and priestess, had been decorated in white and red ribbons with strange, otherworldly symbols scrawled over them. These streamers hung off over hanging tree branches that lead to a stone platform with a podium and large ceramic bowl upon it, where the bride and groom were to stand together, along with Kaname who was performing the ceremony.

Elijah had been informed by the miko as to how a Royal Family wedding worked. Therefore, he was prepared for all that was to come, as he waited for his soon-to-be bride to join him on the porch of the shrine. They were to go to the ceremony together, dressed in the traditional wedding garb of Japan.

For him, that meant that he was dressed in the black kimono and haori with striped hakama and tabi socks and zori sandals. He felt a little out of his comfort zone wearing such clothes. He was certainly not accustomed to the billowing outfit, but it was part of the Royal Family tradition and so, he had to adhere to the custom.

When Eternity finally emerged from inside the shrine, accompanied by Veren, Elijah felt his breath hitch at the sight of his beautiful lady. She wore the traditional white kimono that were typical of Shinto weddings. She had her long white hair put up in an intricate way with traditional ornaments hanging from the folds of her hair. She also wore the traditional headdress, a hat called a tsuno-kakushi. With her pale complexion and even paler hair, she seemed ghostly beautiful, with a shining grace even more profound than ever before, as she floated over to join his side.

“You look perfect,” Elijah smiled lovingly at her.

Eternity grinned shyly in return, “As I did not have this type of wedding the last time, I feel ridiculous, quite frankly.”

“That makes two of us,” he chuckled quietly. “Are you ready?”

“Always,” she nodded.

With that, Veren went off ahead of them to join the other guests, while Elijah and his lady began their procession through the Kirin Shrine’s courtyard to the back of the propriety where everyone was waiting for them. They didn’t touch as was protocol, instead walking toward the raised platform side by side in perfect step with each other until they finally reached the podium with

Kaname standing on the other side of it with a small smile upon her lips. She was dressed in the typical white haori and red hakama she always wore with her white hair tied back by a white ribbon that left two hair loops to frame her face and tie in with the rest.

The rest of the crowd were dressed in traditional Japanese garb as well, magicked into existence for them by Kaname and Veren. The men were dressed in a variety of men’s kimonos that were of blacks and grays, while the women present wore colorful kimonos of bright patterns. Nobody looked comfortable, except for Veren perhaps, who seemed used to the foreign garb.

“Welcome everyone to this sacred ceremony where two heart will unite into one,” the miko began, speaking in stiff formality, as Elijah and Eternity came to stand before her. “Her Majesty, our precious Universal Queen has chosen this gentleman, whom was born of Earth, Elijah Mikaelson, to be her husband from this day forward until existence falls away and time ceases to exist. Today we shall all bear witness to their union with the sacred traditions of the ancient immortals.”

Kaname took up a small dagger, speaking a few words in an otherworldly tongue that Elijah couldn’t recognize, before addressing the small crowd again, “I, Kaname, the holy priestess of the Kirin Shrine bless this union. To bind this two souls together, they shall each deliver some of their blood into the sacred Chimamire bowl and then drink from it, the united blood, signifying their commitment to each other in the unity of matrimony. Forevermore will they be one until all falls to eternal darkness.”

The priestess handed the dagger to Eternity first, whom took it and then glanced at Elijah beside her, as she sliced her palm and squeezed the blood that flowed from the wound into the bowl quickly before her healing factor kicked in to seal it shut again. Then once there was enough blood poured into the basin, she handed the knife over to him and he quickly mimicked her, slicing his palm and squeezing the blood that came forth into the bowl swiftly before his own healing factor started to heal the wound.

Once that was finished, Kaname handed the bowl to Eternity first, saying, “With this joined blood, you, my queen, become one with your groom.”

Then the pale beauty gracefully tipped the heavy looking bowl back and drank a sip from it, before handing it over to Elijah, whom did the same as the miko repeated, “With this joined blood, you, lord vampire, become one with your bride.”

The Original savored the tangy flavor of their combined blood, having found it exquisite. He immediately felt a strange sensation go through him that was indescribable, but it felt asthough he was suddenly more aware of Eternity. It was like they had become one, as if she had suddenly become a part of him in a literal sense - and he, no doubt, a part of her.

He hadn’t expected it, but he couldn’t say that he didn’t like the idea of being linked in some fashion to Eternity. In fact, he found it pleasantly fascinating.

Once they had done this, the bowl was returned to the podium. Then the priestess brought forth a long red string and tied one end to Eternity’s left wrist and the other end to Elijah’s right. This was a symbol of the red string of fate that bound two people together, information of which Eternity’s cousin announced to the gathered crowd and the wedded couple.

With that, the formal wedding ceremony was over.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Her Majesty, Eternity Mikealson and Lord Elijah Mikealson,” Kaname told the families joyfully.

Their respective loved ones all clapped and cheered, except for Niklaus who maintained his usual stoicism. He did carry a small smile as he clapped for his brother and new sister-in-law. Finn was even worse. He clapped, but it was unenthusiastic and he didn’t smile at all, showing his general distain for his family, even in the face of a happy moment.

“Now that the binding ceremony has been complete, the joined couple may retire to the wilderness to consummate the sacred bond forged here today,” Eternity’s cousin said. “It is tradition for a newly married couple to bless the land of which they have bound themselves to each other by consummating their union upon it.”

There were a few snickers from Kol and Niklaus when Kaname said that, but Elijah ignored them. He was entirely focused on his new bride. He had been craving her for an age it felt like. Now he could finally claim her, not simply as his lover as he had before, but as his wife, for the first time.

Eternity took the lead, taking his hand in hers and lead him away from the platform into the woods behind it. She too ignored the others as they cheered and made comments. She focused completely on him and what was about to transpire once they reached their destination.

The immortal queen brought Elijah to a beautiful and bright clearing, still sparkling with morning dew. The area was completely surrounded by thick foliage, except for the path of which they traveled on. In the center of this hideaway place was a large and thick blanket of the purest white. An out of place feature amongst the greenery around them.

Upon stepping across the threshold of this secret love nest, their kimonos magically vanished, leaving them bare, as they moved toward the blanket, where they would make love for the first time as husband and wife. Even his bride’s hair had returned to it’s free flowing state, making her seem like a wild nymph amongst the wilderness with her hair billowing about her as she moved.

Once they had stepped to the foot of their makeshift bed, Eternity turned to him with a wicked grin upon her rose pink lips.

Elijah couldn’t help but return it with one of his own. He didn’t hesitate. He quickly gathered her to him, pressing her against him bodily. He cupped the side of her neck and growling, “Mine!”

His mouth descended upon hers. He kissed her hungrily, his tongue diving in between her lips to taste her throughly. He listened as she moaned and felt her reciprocate eagerly, making his want of her even more urgent.

As they kissed, he lifted her up into his arms, so that her legs were wrapped securely around his waist. Holding her tightly, Elijah moved toward the blanket, practically falling upon it with her beneath him.

She gasped a bit in surprise from the sudden impact, but the rough treatment barely registered for either of them. Instead, Eternity swiftly curled around him, her hands in his hair and her legs around his hips. All the while, her mouth never left his, their tongues danced in perfect rhythm together as they battled for dominance.

Then Elijah moved his mouth away from her lips and down her neck and further down over her breast, suckling upon the rosy peak of one, while kneading the other in his hand. He enjoyed the taste of her skin against his tongue greatly, as he soon carried on moving even lower, over her ribs and her stomach until his head was nestled between her thighs at her center.

The scent of her arousal was intoxicating and it drove his need to taste her sweetness that pooled there. He ran his tongue over her clit, sucking on it firmly, while her hands raked through his hair and his name fell form her lips in a needy moan. She bucked against him, wanting more.

Elijah carried on bringing her higher in pleasure with his mouth, holding her still with one arm slung over her hips, until she neared the point of falling off the edge. Once he brought her to that maddened point, he pulled away with a cruel smirk, as Eternity groaned in disappointment and glared down at him.

He quickly moved to sit up, licking his lips of her wonderful flavor, before tugging her upward and into his lap, where she straddled him. He kissed her passionately, letting her taste herself there briefly and then pulled away to rest his forehead against hers and murmur, “I love you, Eternity, always and forever.”

Eternity smiled lovingly as she breathlessly replied, “And I love you, until the end of time. Nothing will part us now. We are one, you and I, always from here on out.”

Immediately, her mouth latched onto his again and she moved into position, lifting herself up andguiding his hard length into her body with a tiny hand. While looking into his dark gaze, the ethereal beauty sank down on him slowly, until he was buried to the hilt inside her. They both groaned in unison at the feeling, their eyes screwing shut at the sensation of being joined.

Then with her hands on his shoulders, Eternity moved, lifting herself up slowly and slamming back down upon him. She did this over and over again, while Elijah held her close, kissing her jaw and neck frantically as she brought them higher and higher in pleasure. One of his hands slid up her back and into her hair, cupping the back of her head as he kissed her mouth.

Soon, she was moving even faster as her body climbed to an even greater level. He could feel his own doing the same as she drove them closer to completion with every thrust downward upon his cock. It wasn’t long before she was riding him vigorously, blind in her need to come. He helped her along, thrusting up into her as she descended upon him, feeling his own end fast approaching.

Suddenly, it happened. Eternity’s walls squeezed him tightly as she shook in orgasm. Her end triggered Elijah’s own. He came with a roar that was muffled as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, filling her completely.

As they came together, a strange sensation occurred. There was was burst of energy that quickly welled up inside his chest and then it seemed to leave him, flowing outward into the ground beneath them.

Elijah pulled back with a gasp unrelated to his release.

“What was that?” He breathed in surprise.

Eternity smiled and laughed lightly, “It was our offering to the land of which we bound ourselves together. It’s only a small surge of joined energy dispersion - a one time occurrence, I promise.”

He grinned, relaxing as he brushed back her hair and gazed lovingly at her. “So the blessing Kaname spoke of was quite literal,” he said with amusement.

“Aye,” she nodded.

“Well then, I think we should give the land another offering...or many,” smirked Elijah playfully as he laid her back against the blanket with him hovering over her. “One can never be too sure the blessing took hold throughly. It’s best to make sure with a repeat performance.”

Eternity giggled joyfully and shook her head at him at his playfulness, which the latter turned into a throaty moan as he withdrew from where he had still been buried deep inside her. Then he pushed back inside without warning, causing her to gasp and moan all over again. He chuckled at her reaction and kissed her lips, feeling his great love for her well up inside him as he took her all over again, never feeling more blessed then being right there with her, as her husband and she as his wife.

They made love over and over again until dusk fell upon the woods, resting in between bouts, where they cuddled close and talked of their future together, especially the children they would have - again, as they had many times before.

Once the sun had begun to set, the pair dressed by Eternity’s magic; him in a suit and her in a flowing white gown akin to a Western style wedding dress. They emerged from the wilderness together without the red ribbon that had been wrapped around their wrists, as it had apparently dissolved at some point, but were still joined by their intertwined hands.

The rest of their families had lingered as was custom, having been celebrating their union without them. There were plentiful drinks and food, talk and laughter. It was a happy sight, a rare occurrence in Elijah’s long and rather dark life.

Upon seeming them come from the woods, there were cheers and more teasing comments abound from the Mikaelsons, while Eternity’s family smiled proudly upon seeing them return to the group.

At least one side of their now joined families had maturity about them, Elijah thought.

The pair grinned at their loved ones gathered, thanking them all for being there. After that, the newlyweds joined the others in food, talk, and even dancing. They all laughed together, even the newcomers of Eternity’s family that Elijah didn’t know. As the evening wore on, he was finally introduced to the older couple, whom seemed awkward in their own skins, by his lady.

He learned from them that they were Eternity’s aunt and uncle, Akasia and Ankar, Veren’s mother and father, as well as his bride’s adoptive parents. They had been the ones to raise her until she was old enough to go live with her grandmother Queen Galaxia and begin her journey as a guardian and the future Universal Queen.

It had been Eternity herself that later explained the older looking couple, whom were stoic and a bit standoffish, normally never abandoned their unicorn forms, unlike the rest of the family. They had chosen long agoto live as they truly were instead of a falsity that was a humanoid form.

Elijah found them both fascinating and also found that they didn’t seem too opposed to him, despite the fact that he was from Earth and a vampire. They were both warm and relatively inviting towards him, but it may have been more for Eternity’s benefit than anything else. His lady did tell him that not everyone would be accepting of their union, but none would dare to say anything out of the way to him.

Eventually, as the party began to wind down, Elijah’s bride took the opportunity to speak to the Mikaelson clan, making an announcement to them - one that they all knew was coming.

“Now that Elijah and I are married, it is time for the higher order ritual to commence, that will grant all of you a new existence,” she said to them with regal authority. “It is time for you lot to join the ancient immortals and become new creatures that will be strong enough to handle the new threats that might come for you because you are now part of my family and I, part of yours.”

Elijah watched as his siblings all stood a little straighter with a bit of wariness, though that was probably because none of them knew what to expect. Everyone feared the unknown to some extent.

With a reassuring smile upon sensing their sudden uncertainty, Eternity warmly invited them to join her, “Come, let us begin.”

**To Be Continued....**


	24. The Mad Brother Strikes!

**Disclaimer** : I do not own Elijah or any elements from the Vampire Diaries/the Originals. I do, however, own my OC Eternity and any elements from my up and coming novel. Please review! I’d appreciate it a lot! Thanks and happy reading!

**Author’s Note** : This is the final chapter for Elijah’s Eternity: New Orleans! I want to thank everyone who has been reading or will read in the future. I hope that you have enjoyed it as much as I have writing it. There will be at least one more installment for this series. So there’s that to look forward to. Again, thank you for your readership. It’s greatly appreciated!

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Three years passed by quickly.

Even after all that time since their wedding, Elijah continued to find himself in marital bliss with Eternity by his side. Not that it would be anything less. Thinking back to his ten years of misery, he would have never thought himself capable of such bliss ever again. To go from that dark, empty place to this one of the purest light was a blessing unto him, a change of fate that he didn’t know what he did to deserve.

After they had returned to New Orleans, every day had been filled with love and joy between he and his bride. Knowing that they were going to be together forever gave the married couple a high like no other. This pleasure was only increased by the fact that they could now have a family. He could have children with the woman he loved, thanks to the ritual Eternity had performed the night of their wedding.

The higher order ritual had been a quick affair, just a bit of blood from each Mikealson mixed with Eternity’s which was then consumed by Elijah and his siblings. It turned out that her blood was the agent that changed the dark magic of which created the Originals so that they were not only stronger, faster, more impervious, but so that they could have families of their own if they so chose. The ethereal woman’s blood also changed the genetic makeup of the non-immortals of his family to make them stronger, more invulnerable - not quite immortal, but certainly longer lived.

Training commenced for all of them by the well equipped superhuman soldiers from the Underground Agency, except for Elijah whom was taught how to use and control his stronger abilities by his beautiful wife. It had been tough at first, especially with the intense martial arts training where they sparred,but not because he had trouble mastering his newfound powers. No, it was their mutual intense attraction to his bride that made things difficult.

Sometimes he would end up pinning Eternity to the floor or she would pin him and they would end up forgetting that they were training completely, giving into their carnal needs. It actually grew out of control for a while on both their parts in these sensual distractions.

So, a rewards system was devised by his lady to give Elijah motivation to maintain control of his desires for Eternity while they were in teacher-student mode. If he managed to achieve whatever training goals she set for the day, then she’d reward him with her body. It worked wonderfully, especially whenever his wife reminded him of the fact that they could conceive. Not that he could forget.

Speaking of conceiving, Elijah had hoped that they would do so quickly after marrying as he wanted a child with Eternity more than anything. However, three years into their marriage and Eternity had yet to fall pregnant. He was disappointed that it was taking so long, but also understood that these things did take time, and he did enjoy the endless attempts at conception with his bride. So he tried to be patient, knowing that his wishes would be granted eventually.

In the meantime, to combat his baby fever, he took enjoyment of helping out his sister Rebekah, whom had conceived her first child, little Elle, with Marcel quickly, after Eternity had performed the higher order ritual. And then there was Hope as well, of whom he loved to spend time with. He was certainly an attentive uncle, practice for when he finally became a father himself.

Then one day, Elijah returned to the loft in Algiers, where he had made his home with his lady, having come from the Mikaelson compound after taking the ten year old Hope out to ice cream, and found Eternity waiting for him at the top of the entryway stairs. She was absolutely glowing and had a mysterious smile stretched across her pink rose lips,as she watched him ascend the steps toward her.

“Welcome back, my love,” she grinned widely, as if she were excited about something or other.

Curious, he approached her quickly, coming to stand before her on the last stair. He had his hopes, of course, as to the meaning behind her strange behavior, but didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon, in case it was something else that had her excited.

“Good afternoon, Sweetheart,” Elijah greeted her with a smile. “To what do I owe this front door greeting?”

Eternity reached out and cupped the sides of his face lovingly, before bending forward to kiss him briefly.

Elijah could hear her quickened heart beat and her hands were trembling slightly too as they held his face. These observations made the Original even more curious as to what was going on. His hopes lifting higher.

He quickly found out the big mystery as his wife pulled away and beamed at him, “Elijah, a most wonderful thing has happened,” she said as she took one of his hands and put it against her abdomen.

Elijah looked at his hand and immediately realized what she meant. His wishes had been granted! His gaze lifted to hers again with a wide eyed look of realization. He tried to speak, but found himself temporarily speechless.

“We are going to have a baby,” Eternity told him joyously, knowing he’d be excited by the news.

As if suddenly brought to life, he instantaneously had his wife swept up into his arms and spun her around the room in happiness, while he laughed in a way that he didn’t think he ever had. Then he set the giggling woman down on her feet and kissed her all over her face, lastly upon her lips.

Finally, he thought. At last, he was going to be a father!

“I love you so much,” he whispered emotionally against Eternity’s lips, before pulling back to gaze into her eyes. “You have brought such light into my dark existence and that of my family. You’ve given us, in part, a new lease on life. I never thought that I would have a wife or be a father, but here I am, both. Even Niklaus had found new purpose, a better one, thanks to you.”

“Aye, it does seem like I have a new ally in your brother,” replied Eternity. “Ever since his stay with the agents of the Underground, he has become something of an enemy turned hero. He has found a new purpose as a one of them in these recent years, going on missions with his new, stronger abilities, to aid them. Quite the change.”

Elijah nodded, grasping the sides of her face tenderly between his hands, “Everything is different now, for the better, and I hope that none of us ever return to the darkness of before.”

“I hope for the same. I’ve grown fond of the Mikaelson clan,” she smiled. “I look forward to our child having a close knit family of aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, in an environment that isn’t completely dysfunctional.”

“As do I, but more so, I cannot wait to raise this child and any others we might have, together,” he beamed. “Raising a family with you is a joy I never thought I’d have, but one I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love you. God, I love you!”

He kissed her again. This time, it was more passionately. The joyous moment carried him away as he lifted Eternity into his arms again and carried her to the bed, where he promptly proceeded to make love to her in celebration.

Three months after receiving that wonderful news and Elijah was a doting father-to-be in caring for his pregnant wife and checking the condition of their unborn child. He was always touching her rounded belly, feeling the baby move around inside with such pride. He made sure Eternity wanted for nothing, doing everything in his power to ensure she was well cared for in her delicate condition. This was especially true when it came to her food intake.

After he had caught her trying to eat a half gallon tub of ice cream for breakfast one day, of which he had swiftly stopped Eternity from doing, he had made it his mission to make sure she ate nutritiously. He cooked for her all the time, making her favorite meals, or if she was having a particular craving, he’d make her that.

Eternity seemed to appreciate his efforts to look after her, finding it attractive instead of annoying. It actually made her rather amorous and he often found himself at the mercy of an incredibly turned on pregnant immortal as a result. He swore she was going to kill him with how often she sought his attentions, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. He gave her all the intimacy she craved and then some.

Yes, Elijah had been living in complete bliss, but then as all happy moments seemed to, things took a turn.

It had begun when one afternoon, he received a visit from a new apparition while he was out in the Quarter, getting a special treat for Eternity. This came after not receiving such strange visitations since right before his marriage to his lady. Because of a lack of occurrences, he had forgotten about the odd happenings in his blissful new life.

This new apparition has appeared in the form of Katherine Pierce aka Katerina Petrova, one of his ancient loves. He had heard years ago of her death and had grieved for her momentarily, but it had been overshadowed by his adventures with Niklaus in New Orleans and he never mourner properly as a result.

When she appeared, it had been beside him while he was doing business with a street vendor. “Hello, Elijah,” Katherine had greeted him with a cool, unpleasant smile.

Surprised, he had turned to stare at her, before he relaxed and returned her unfriendly smile with one of his own. “Why, if it isn’t Katherine Pierce. Come to warn me of the word your new ally are going to unleash upon me?” He mockingly said. “Seems like your new boss is all talk and no action, as they say.”

“Oh, the woes and misery promised are still coming, Elijah,” she responded cheerily, “but it’s just that there’s been a change of plans. I am actually here to warn you that my ‘ally’ as you call him is actually coming back from the dead and I am coming with him. Once we do, the real fun shall begin as we take great enjoyment in tearing down everything that you have built for yourself and for your family. Enjoy your happy new life now, because soon it will be turned to ash.”

Before Elijah could even respond to Katherine’s threat, she vanished with her cruel laugh echoing on the wind.

He did his best not to let it bother him, but he remained vigilant in the days that passed afterward, ready for whatever might come. He made sure his family and Eternity were ready as well, knowing that the threat was upon all of them.

Then halfway through the fourth month of his wife’s pregnancy, a different foe decided to come crawling out of the shadows to make a move against them finally. The fiendish Bruno had come to collect on the prize he sought, after being quiet for years.

It had happened when the madman showed up at the Mikaelson compound out of nowhere, without warning, which prompted Rebekah to call Elijah and tell him to get over there. He had been at home with Eternity and once his wife had learned of what was going on, she insisted on going, despite his protests to keep her safe at the loft.

“You need to trust that I will keep the baby safe,” his wife told him. “I won’t let anything terrible happen to either of us. I promise!”

Though he retained his reservations, Elijah relented and together, they went to the compound to face their foe.

By the time they arrived, Eternity’s mad brother had Hope in his grasp and the Mikaelson clan stood around him, held at bay by the threat he posed to the child. They already looked as if they had gone into battle with the insane immortal. Each member of Elijah’s family were battered, so they probably attempted to use their new abilities to defeat Bruno, but found he was still too much for them to handle, yet still managed to hold their own with their greater strengths.

Eternity took the lead immediately as the queen she was, stepping into the proverbial ring with her older brother. “Let the child go, Bruno,” she beckoned him with authority. “If you do not, then I’ll have no choice but to end you. Stand down and perhaps we can seek a better solution instead of this...nonsense.”

Bruno grinned manically as Hope struggled in his grasp and looking pleadingly at Eternity. Then without a word, the bastard began to drain the young girl of her powers. The red headed child began to glow bright blue and she screamed in agony as he did.

“He’s going to kill her!” Hayley shrieked from the sidelines,being held back by an equally panicked Niklaus.

Elijah watched worriedly, knowing that his wife would never allow that, but was deeply concern with what she planned on doing. She had said that she’d protect their unborn child and herself, but he didn’t understand just how she was going to do that without taking up her sword.

It was then that the answer came as he watched her shift forms, becoming the Universal Queen.

In blinding white light did this rarely seen version of his lady appear. Eternity shone brilliantly in her white gown and sparkling diamonds and amethysts. Her white starburst birthmark centered upon her forehead glowed as her unicorn horn did and hummed the same as well. The sight was familiar to him, but he remained wary, especially faced with this rare sight.

It was then that Elijah noticed a difference that he hadn’t seen the last time he had witnessed the Universal Queen. Queen Eternity held her hands as if she were holding a medium sized ball, but between them hovered a glowing starburst shaped object that Elijah concluded was the mysterious Unicorn Crystal, the greatest power source in two universes.

He also recalled what it could do to Eternity, if she used it.

Elijah was alarmed. She couldn’t!

As he panicked, his wife looked back at him and sent a telepathic message to him.Her words echoed through his mind, saying, “Elijah, listen carefully. I have to use the power of the crystal to defeat Bruno. I have no other choice. I can not erase him from our lives as I had the Hollow, for he is a different breed of monster, not so easily subdued. However with a bit of the crystal’s might, I can do so.

“This means that you’re going to have to look after us, the baby and myself. I’m not going to remember anything for a while. Therefore, it is up to you to be our guardian; to love and protect us with everything you have. Never forget that I love you, no matter what, always and forever. See you soon, my love.”

It felt more like a goodbye than anything and that had Elijah distraught to no end. Yet, he could do nothing to stop his powerful lady. He could only trust that she knew what she was doing, something he was struggling to do. He didn’t want her to go, didn’t want her to forget him.

As he watched on, the ethereal woman turned back to her opponent.

“I am the Universal Queen, Queen Eternity,” shouted Eternity as a blustery surge of energy kicked up from the power she was wielding. “I sentence you to a fate of nonexistence for the malicious murders you have committed while in this mortal world and the attempted murder committed here today! Be gone, evil one, and never plague this existence ever again!”

The end happened quickly. A large burst of white energy engulfed Bruno, Hope, and Eternity, blocking them from the sight of the Mikaelson clan that held onto their breaths in worry. Panic ensued as none of them knew what was happening, not even Elijah. He could not see or sense their family members lost in consuming energy. They were simply gone.

Hayley could be heard weeping, along with Kol and Freya, as the thought of losing their loved ones started to become a very possible reality for them.

Elijah immediately felt the terror set in that something had gone terribly wrong. He wanted to break down and weep for what he was sure the great loss of his niece, his wife, and his unborn child. However, this only lasted a moment as he began to sense two life forces, One was small, but strong, while the other was weak, yet steady.

The blinding light vanished suddenly, revealing an unharmed Hope and Eternity reverted to her non-queenly self. There wasn’t any sign of Bruno and Elijah concluded that he had been obliterated by the formidable power of his lady, much in the same way the Hollow had been upon the pale beauty’s return to his life.

Except that this was different from then, he soon discovered.

As he rushed over to Eternity, to ensure that she was alright, while the others tended to Hope, he immediately realized that something wasn’t right. She stared at him with uncertainty, almost as if she didn’t recognize him as he neared. She shied away as Elijah reached to touch her and bowed her head defensively as if she had her horn to warn him off with. Immediately did he back off, unsure of what to do.

“Who are you?” Eternity demanded, looking around her wildly. “Who am I? Where?”

It was then that he recognized what was going on. Eternity had entered a reboot, as she had once called it, from using the Unicorn Crystal. However, what didn’t make sense to him was why she hadn’t reverted to her basest self - the unicorn? She had told him that if she used too much of the crystal’s power, she returned to her unicorn roots and forgot herself completely. It seemed the latter had taken hold, but not the former. Elijah didn’t know what that meant, but he did know he needed to help her.

“It’s alright,” he told her gently. “You don’t need fear me or anyone here. We’re family.”

Eternity gazed curiously at him, still wildly uncertain of anything. One of her hands reached to touch her forehead in confusion as she tried to figure out what was happening, while the other grazed her round pregnant belly. Her eyes widened in surprise and then horror as they fell upon the protrusion, then up at him.

“What sorcery is this?” She said trembling, panic taking hold. “What is going on? What has happened to me?

Sighing deeply, Elijah carefully approached her, placing a hand over hers that instinctively cradled her rounded belly. “I’m your husband, Elijah,” he cooed to her, smiling softly, “and you are my wife, Eternity. We’re going to have a baby together soon, you and I.”

His lady shrank back, shaking her head as if she didn’t believe him as she backed away.

It stung for her to do so, but Elijah was patient and understanding, knowing that she was suffering a crisis. Yet, he began to panic as instinct screamed at him that Eternity was about to run. It was obvious in the taunt way she held herself. It was clear in her wide, frightened eyes. Like before when she had used the crystal, he felt helpless to stop her, even with his upgrades in power and speed.

Then before Elijah could even get the words out to appeal to her, to keep her there, she vanished without a trace.

“Eternity!”

His desperate voice reverberated, but was met with silence.

Eternity was gone....

**The End**


End file.
